Table 1. . Vascularization enhancement patterns and postvascular Sonazoid patterns of malignant lesions in cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic liver.
| Features | Arterial phase | Portal-venous phase | Delayed phase | Post-vascular phase | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HCC in cirrhosis | CEUS typical | Hyper-enhancement (complete) | Iso-enhancement, non-enhancement (regions) | Hypo-enhancement | – |
| CEUS additional | Basket pattern, caotic vessels, hypo-, non-enhancement, enhancement tumor thrombus | non-enhancement | Iso-enhancement, non-enhancement | – | |
| Sonazoid | – | – | – | Non-enhancement or hypo-enhancement, iso-enhancement (in well differentiated HCC) | |
| HCC not in cirrhosis | CEUS typical | Hyper-enhancement | Hypo-, non-enhancement | Hypo-, non-enhancement | – |
| CEUS additional | Non-enhancement (regions) | Non-enhancement (regions) | Non-enhancement (regions) | – | |
| CCC | CEUS typical | Rim enhancement | Hypo-, non-enhancement | Hypo-, non-enhancement | – |
| CEUS additional | Non-enhancement | – | – | – | |
| Sonazoid | – | – | – | Non-enhancement or hypo-enhancement (pattern described in cirrhosis) | |
| Metastasis | CEUS typical | Rim enhancement | Hypo-enhancement | Hypo-, non-enhancement | – |
| CEUS additional | Complete enhancement, hyper-enhancement, non-enhancement regions | Non-enhancement (regions) | non-enhancement (regions) | – | |
| Sonazoid | – | – | – | Non-enhancement or hypo-enhancement | |
The CEUS typical and additional patterns are described for HCC, CCC and liver metastasis. The post-vascular patterns (Sonazoid patterns) are described in HCC and CCC in cirrhosis and in liver metastases.
CCC: Cholangiocellular carcinoma; CEUS: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.