Frequency of synchronous malignant liver lesions initially detected by ultrasound in patients with newly diagnosed underlying non-hematologic malignant disease: a retrospective study in 434 patients

Introduction This study described the frequency of malignant synchronous focal liver lesions (FLLs) in patients with newly diagnosed non-hematologic malignant disease. Methods From June 2013 to January 2017, 434 patients with synchronous FLLs and newly diagnosed underlying malignant disease were included in the study. The diagnosis of the FLLs was made by histology and/or contrast-enhanced imaging. The final medical report was used for analysis in the study. Results Of the 434 liver lesions, 258 (59.4 %) were malignant and 176 (40.6 %) benign. All malignant lesions were metastases. The benign liver lesions were comprised of 93 cysts (21.4 %), 52 hemangiomas (12.0 %), 20 focal fatty sparing (4.6 %), 4 focal nodular hyperplasia (0.9 %), 3 unspecified benign lesions (0.7 %), 2 regenerative nodules (0.5 %), 1 calcification (0.2 %), and 1 adenoma (0.2 %). Diseases with the highest percentage frequency of synchronous malignant FLLs were cholangiocarcinoma with 86.7 %, neuroendocrine tumor with 72.7 %, and pancreatic carcinoma with 72.0 %. Gastric carcinoma (33.3 %), breast carcinoma (44.4 %), and urothelial cell carcinoma (45.5 %) were the diseases with the lowest percentage frequency of synchronous malignant FLLs. Conclusion In total, the frequency of malignant synchronous FLLs in newly diagnosed non-hematologic malignant disease was 59.4 %. In particular, cholangiocarcinoma, neuroendocrine tumor, and pancreatic carcinoma were the diseases with the highest rate of synchronous malignant FLLs.