Abstract
Introduction
Focal liver lesions (FLLs) are incidentally detected masses found in daily abdominal imaging which are necessary to be characterized, because of the potential of being malignant. There are several imaging methods, such as ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT scan), and contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Here, we evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracy (i.e., sensitivity and specificity) of these imaging methods for the diagnosis of FLLs.
Material and Methods
In this retrospective study, patients with focal liver lesions included and based on the gastroenterologist decision, in 79 patients different imaging methods were used to determine the nature of FLLs: the US, CT scan, and MRI. At the next step, fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) was performed in all cases, and the results about the true nature of FLLs compared with different imaging results. The chi-square test and McNemar test were used.
Results
Ultrasound diagnosis of benign and malignant was obtained with 82% diagnosis accuracy, 100% sensitivity, 71.4% specificity, 100% negative predictive value, and 69.2% positive predictive value (PPV) compared with the biopsy. Also, the results of benign and malignant masses in CT scan were obtained with diagnostic accuracy of 95%, 100% sensitivity, 80% specificity, 93.9% positive predictive value, and 100% negative predictive value. MRI performed only in 2 cases with similar results to pathology.
Conclusion
It seems that CT scan is more appropriate and useful in the diagnosis of hepatic masses due to its higher diagnostic accuracy than the ultrasound.
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Acknowledgments
The assistance and cooperation of the Health Deputy at the Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases Research Center, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, who helped us in the data collection process are highly appreciated.
Funding
A substantial part of this study was supported by the Research Council of Guilan University of Medical Sciences
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This study was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the Helsinki Declaration. The study was approved by ethics committee of Guilan University of Medical Sciences.
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Alizadeh, A., Mansour-Ghanaei, F., Bagheri, F.B. et al. Imaging Accuracy in Diagnosis of Different Focal Liver Lesions: A Retrospective Study in North of Iran. J Gastrointest Canc 52, 970–975 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-020-00510-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-020-00510-z