Differentiation of hypervascular hepatic pseudolesions from hepatocellular carcinoma: Value of single-level dynamic CT during hepatic arteriography

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to assess the efficacy of single-level dynamic CT during hepatic arteriography (D-CTA) in the differentiation between hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and hypervascular pseudolesion. Method: D-CTA was performed in nine cases with HCC and nine cases with pseudolesion. Findings on D-CTA were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The transition of the stain of pseudolesion on D-CTA was divided into three phases: (1) inflow of the contrast material into the portal vein within the lesion, (2) lesion staining, and (3) fading out of the stain; that of HCC was divided into four phases: (3) inflow of CM into tumor, (2) tumor staining, (3) inflow of CM into the adjacent liver, and (4) coronal stain of adjacent liver. The coronal stain was seen in all HCCs but not in any pseudolesions. Conclusion: The present study suggests that D-CTA is a helpful option in the differentiation between HCC and pseudolesion.