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Acute tumor lysis syndrome results from a sudden and rapid release of products of cellular breakdown after anticancer therapy. Severe alterations of metabolic profile might occur and result in acute renal failure. We present a patient with a large hepatocellular carcinoma who received transcatheter oily chemoembolization and died subsequently of this syndrome. To our knowledge, there has been only one report of this syndrome induced by chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma. This case illustrates the need to anticipate the development of acute tumor lysis syndrome when chemoembolization is planned for a large hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine the usefulness of delayed phase imaging for detecting small (< or = 2 cm) hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) in patients with liver cirrhosis., Materials and Methods: Triphasic (arterial, portal venous, and delayed phases) dynamic CT was performed in 33 patients with 48 HCCs proven histopathologically and in 65 control subjects. Arterial, portal venous, and delayed phase images were obtained 30 seconds, 68-70 seconds, and 5 minutes after the start of contrast material injection, respectively. Three blinded observers reviewed the images independently and evaluated tumor attenuation. Diagnostic performance for the combination of phases was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis., Results: On arterial phase images, 28 of the 48 HCCs were hyperattenuating, nine were isoattenuating, and 11 were hypoattenuating. On portal venous phase images, three tumors were hyperattenuating, 17 were isoattenuating, and 28 were hypoattenuating. On delayed phase images, five tumors were isoattenuating, and 43 were hypoattenuating. The mean sensitivity for the combination of arterial and portal venous phase imaging was 86.8%, that for the combination of arterial and delayed phase imaging was 90.3%, and that for the combination of all three phase imaging was 93.8%. The area underneath composite ROC curve (A(Z)) for the combination of all three phase imaging (A(Z) = 0.940) was significantly higher than that for the combination of arterial and portal venous phase imaging (A(Z) = 0.917) and for the combination of arterial and delayed phase imaging (A(Z) = 0.922)., Conclusion: Delayed phase imaging is useful for detecting small HCCs and should be included in dynamic CT examinations of patients with liver cirrhosis.

Background: To elucidate the imaging characteristics of well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) on ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging., Methods: Ultrasonograms, CTs, and MR images of 18 histopathologically proven well-differentiated HCCs in 15 patients were reviewed. The findings of these images were correlated with histopathologic findings., Results: On US, seven tumors were depicted as a hyperechoic area and eight as a hypoechoic area. Three tumors were not visualized. On precontrast CT, four tumors were depicted as a low-density area, but 14 were not visualized. On conventional contrast-enhanced CT, 12 tumors were depicted as a low-density area but six were not visualized. On T1-weighted MR images, 10 tumors had high signal intensity and two had low signal intensity. Six tumors were not visualized. On T2-weighted MR images, five tumors had high signal intensity and two had low signal intensity. Eleven tumors were not visualized. Tumors with fatty change and/or clear cell formation were frequently hyperechoic on US and hyperintense on T1-weighted MR images., Conclusions: Well-differentiated HCCs show different findings on US, CT, and MR imaging. Therefore, reliable diagnosis of well-differentiated HCCs by these imaging techniques may be difficult.

Dense accumulation of Lipiodol in hepatic segmental parenchyma was studied by computed tomography (CT) after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for hepatic tumor. Six patients showed dense accumulation of Lipiodol in hepatic segmental parenchyma on CT two weeks after TACE. Four of the six showed parenchymal accumulation of Lipiodol as dense as that in a tumor at three weeks after TACE. Therefore, it was considered that evaluation with CT should be performed after one month or more in order to differentiate between Lipiodol accumulation in tumors and that in non-neoplastic liver parenchyma.