The role of intraoperative ultrasound in the treatment of liver metastases of colorectal cancer and comparison with the results of preoperative imaging
Abstract
Aim: Comparison of the sensitivity of intraoperative ultrasonography, CT, MRI and PET/CT in the detection of colorectal cancer metastases. Method: In cohort of patients which were operated for liver metastases of colorectal carcinoma were retrospectively corelated results of preoperative imaging (CT, MRI and PET/CT) with intraoperative ultrasound.
We searched for additional lesions that were invisible in CT, MRI or PET/CT. Sensitivity and specificity of CT, PET/CT and MRI was calculated.
Results: Our results show that preoperative diagnostic methods are compared with the IOUS lower sensitivity/specificity: CT 82.2%/93.1%, MR 89.3%/100%, PET/CT 82.0%/96.1% and low negative predictive value CT 54.9%, MR 66.6%, PET/CT 52.0%. Intraoperatively we found 18% additional lesions compared to preoperative CT or PET/ CT and 10% compared to preoperative MRI.
Conclusion: IOUS is a method that provides synoptic view of the liver at the time of the surgery and it is able to show accurately size and location of operated tumor. It is considered as the most sensitive method in detection of small lesions that maybe missed in preoperative imaging.