Can liver cancer be detected by B-ultrasound? 5 imaging diagnostic methods for liver cancer

If you suspect liver cancer, can you detect it with B-ultrasound? Liver cancer is the third most common tumor in my country, with a high mortality rate, which seriously threatens the patient's health and quality of life. For the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer, imaging examinations such as B-ultrasound and CT are essential.

Can liver cancer be detected by B-ultrasound?

Early diagnosis of the disease is crucial for liver cancer patients. Experts say that people with a family history of liver cancer, a history of hepatitis for more than 5 years or positive hepatitis B surface antigen, a history of alcoholism for more than 5-8 years, and patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis should have a blood test for alpha-fetoprotein (AFp) every 3-6 months, an ultrasound examination every six months, and a CT or MRI examination when in doubt, which will help detect liver cancer early. "Otherwise, when symptoms such as abdominal pain, weight loss, jaundice, ascites, etc. appear, it will already be in the middle or late stages." With the development of medical imaging, the detectable liver cancer lesions are getting smaller and smaller, and the latest hepatocyte-specific contrast agents can detect tiny lesions less than 1 cm.

Therefore, for the diagnosis of liver cancer, early screening should be AFp+B-ultrasound, but if a liver mass has been found and liver cancer is suspected, CT examination should be selected.

Imaging Diagnosis of Liver Cancer

1. The most commonly used examination is liver ultrasound. Ultrasound examination is a non-invasive examination and has no adverse effects on human tissues. It is simple to operate, intuitive and accurate, low-cost, convenient and non-invasive, and widely popular. It can be used for the screening of liver cancer and follow-up after treatment.

2. CT has become an important routine means of diagnosing liver cancer. Abdominal enhanced CT scans can clearly show the size, number, shape, location, boundary, tumor blood supply, and relationship with the intrahepatic ducts of liver cancer, which is important for further clarifying the diagnosis and distinguishing it from other benign liver lesions. At the same time, it is also important to clarify the staging and grading of liver cancer, which is important for guiding treatment and judging prognosis. Image analysis software can also be used to reconstruct the various ducts in the liver, accurately track the course of blood vessels in each liver segment, the relationship between tumors and blood vessels, simulate the surgical resection plane, and calculate the volume of the pre-resected tumor and the remaining liver volume, greatly improving the safety of the operation.

3. Liver-specific MRI can improve the detection rate of small liver cancer. It is also helpful for differentiating liver cancer from focal hyperplastic nodules and hepatic adenomas, and can serve as an important supplement to CT examinations.

4. pET (positron emission tomography)-CT whole-body scan can understand the overall condition and evaluate tumor metastasis, and can more comprehensively determine the tumor stage and prognosis, but it is relatively expensive and is generally not used as the first choice.

5. Selective hepatic artery angiography is an invasive examination. Since liver cancer is rich in blood supply, mainly supplied by the hepatic artery, hepatic artery angiography can clearly show the blood supply of small liver lesions and tumors. After a clear diagnosis, iodized oil can be injected to block the tumor supply vessels to achieve the purpose of treatment. It is suitable for patients who have not been diagnosed after other examinations. Patients with hepatitis B and C should have regular checkups, and if possible, they should have annual physical examinations. Liver B-ultrasound is the most basic examination.