Evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma by three-dimensional sonography with a perflubutane-based contrast agent.

Objective: We performed contrast-enhanced three-dimensional sonography (CE 3D US) with a perflubutane-based contrast agent to immediately evaluate the completeness of ablation of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lesions by extracorporeal high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU).

Subjects And Methods: Twenty-one HCC lesions were treated by a single ultrasound-guided HIFU ablation session, and CE 3D US was performed before, immediately after, and 1 week, and 1 month after HIFU, and contrast-enhanced CT (CE CT) or contrast-enhanced MRI (CE MRI) was performed before HIFU, 1 week and 1 month after HIFU, and during the follow-up period.

Results: Immediately and 1 month after HIFU, 17 lesions were evaluated as adequately ablated by CE 3D US, and the other 4 lesions as residual tumors.