Hypervascular Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Detection with Double Arterial Phase Multi-Detector Row Helical CT

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Abstract
PURPOSE: To assess whether double arterial phase imaging with multi–detector row helical computed tomography improves detection of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-one patients with 96 hypervascular HCCs underwent double arterial phase imaging of the entire liver. At measured delay after intravenous administration of 2 mL/kg of contrast medium at a rate of 5 mL/sec, the early and late arterial phase images were obtained serially during a single breath hold with interscan delay of 5.0 seconds. Detector row configuration of 2.5 × 4 mm, pitch of 6, and scanning time of 10.5 seconds for each phase were used. Forty 5-mm-thick reconstruction images were obtained for each phase. Each image set was interpreted separately by three observers, who were unaware of tumor burden in the liver, to detect hypervascular HCC. Sensitivity, positive predictive value, and area below the receiver operating characteristic curve (Az) for early and late arterial phases separately and toget...