VALIDITY OF COLOR DOPPLER SONOGRAPHY IN EVALUATION OF MALIGNANT PORTAL VEIN THROMBOSIS IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the validity of color doppler sonography in the evaluation of malignant portal vein thrombosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (findings on biphasic spiral computed tomography were used as the gold standard). Methodology: This study was conducted in the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad from March 2009 to November 2009. A total of 100 patients those who were already diagnosed cases of HCC or those having high suspicion of HCC based on clinical criteria (e.g., chronic hepatitis B or C, liver cirrhosis, increased alpha fetoprotein level [ 400ng/dl]) and / or Imaging findings (e.g., sonography, MRI, CT) were included in this study. Results: Color doppler sonography had 80.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity in the detection of arterial flow in the portal vein thrombus (i.e., malignant thrombus) in comparison with biphasic CT (taken as gold standard). Conclusion: Color doppler sonography is an effective, noninvasive method for evaluating the presence of malignant portal vein thrombosis associated with HCC.