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Small (≤3 cm) hepatic lesions

Results of sonographically guided fine-needld biopsy in 385 patients

  • Gastrointestinal Oncology
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Abstract

Three hundred ninety-five consecutive patients with sonographically detected hepatic lesions≤3 cm in diameter were submitted to ultrasonically guided fine-needle biopsy: 24 (6.1%) were≤1 cm in diameter; 142 (36%) were between 1.1 and 2 cm, and 229 (57.9%) were between 2.1 and 3 cm in diameter. In the 385 controlled cases, we obtained a cytohistological diagnosis of malignancy in 243 (63.1%): 135 hepatocellular carcinomas, 97 metastases, and 11 hepatic lymphomas. There were 104 true negatives (27%) and 38 false negatives (9.9%). The sensitivity of ultrasonically guided fine needle biopsy in the total series was 86.5%, the specificity 100%, with an overall accuracy of 90.1%. The overall accuracy was higher for lesions between 2.1 and 3 cm in diameter (90%) and was lower for lesions located in the sixth segment (84.6%). The correct diagnosis was obtained in the 83.3% (135/162) of small hepatocellular carcinomas versus 89.8% (97/108) in cases of small metastatic lesions.

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Author notes

  1. Fabio Fornari MD

    Present address: I Divisione di Medicina, Ospedale di Piacenza, via Taverna 49, 29100, Piacenza, Italy

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Divisione di Malattie Infettive, Università di Pavia, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico S. Matteo, Pavia

    Fabio Fornari MD, Carlo Filice MD, Gian Ludovico Rapaccini MD, Eugenio Caturelli MD, Luigi Cavanna MD, Giuseppe Civardi MD, Michele Di Stasi MD, Elisabetta Buscarini MD & Luigi Buscarini MD

  2. Istituto di Clinica Medica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma

    Fabio Fornari MD, Carlo Filice MD, Gian Ludovico Rapaccini MD, Eugenio Caturelli MD, Luigi Cavanna MD, Giuseppe Civardi MD, Michele Di Stasi MD, Elisabetta Buscarini MD & Luigi Buscarini MD

  3. Divisione di Gastroenterologia, Ospedale Generale Regionale “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza,” S. Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy

    Fabio Fornari MD, Carlo Filice MD, Gian Ludovico Rapaccini MD, Eugenio Caturelli MD, Luigi Cavanna MD, Giuseppe Civardi MD, Michele Di Stasi MD, Elisabetta Buscarini MD & Luigi Buscarini MD

  4. I Divisione di Medicina, Ospedale di Piacenza, via Taverna 49, 29100, Piacenza, Italy

    Carlo Filice MD, Gian Ludovico Rapaccini MD, Eugenio Caturelli MD, Luigi Cavanna MD, Giuseppe Civardi MD, Michele Di Stasi MD, Elisabetta Buscarini MD & Luigi Buscarini MD

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  1. Fabio Fornari MD
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Fornari, F., Filice, C., Rapaccini, G.L. et al. Small (≤3 cm) hepatic lesions. Digest Dis Sci 39, 2267–2275 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02090383

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02090383

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