A breakthrough in contrast-enhanced intraoperative ultrasonography

The present brief clinical report showed that Contrast-enhanced intraoperative ultrasonography (CE-IOUS) using a new microbubble agent, Sonazoid, can allow surgeons to investigate the whole liver with enough time and to find new metastases intraoperatively.

Contrast-enhanced intraoperative ultrasonography (CE-IOUS) seems more sensitive than conventional IOUS to identify new occult lesions during hepatectomy in patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRCLM). However, conventional contrast mediums cannot provide enough time for repeat whole liver intraoperative scan, and further improvement of microbubble agent for CE-IOUS had been sought.

A brief clinical article to be published on January 28, 2008 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. A clinical team led by Dr. Nakano from Asahi-Chuo General Hospital used Sonazoid (perfluorobutane, GE Helthcare, Oslo, Norway), which is a new microbubble agent that provides late Kupffer-phase image.

They showed that CE-IOUS using Sonazoid provided the late Kupffer-phase image for at least 30 min following hepatic vascular-phase image for the first 10 min after the injection. They also showed that occult metastases, which had not been detected preoperatively by CT, MRI or CE-US, were newly found in two of the eight patients with CRCLM.

Sonazoid seems the most suitable microbubble agent for CE-IOUS, and may reduce intrahepatic recurrence and improve survival after hepatectomy in patients with CRCLM.

Reference: Nakano H, Ishida Y, Hatakeyama T, Sakuraba K, HayashiM, Sakurai O, Hataya K. Contrast-enhanced intraoperativeultrasonography equipped with late Kupffer-phase image obtained by sonazoid in patients with colorectal liver metastases.World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(20): 3207-3211
http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/3207.asp

Correspondence to: Hiroshi Nakano, Dr, Department of Surgery, Yokohama Asahi-Chuo General Hospital, 4-20-1 Wakabadai, Asahi-ku, Yokohama 241-0801, Japan. E-mail: nakahiro@marianna-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-45-9216111, Fax: +81-45-9214931

World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.