Ghulam Ghaus Shah, Ishtiaq Ahmed Qureshi, Tariq Hakim, Bilal Ahmed Tarin, Muhammad Ashraf Farooq, Parvez Saleem Qureshi.
Radiological aspects of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Hospital based study.
Pak Armed Forces Med J Jan ;49(1):54-7.

A prospective study comprising 32 cases of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) was carried out between October 1995 and September 1996, in the Radiology Department of Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and Military Hospital (MH), Rawalpindi. The cases were followed up in Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi. The imaging modalities used include plain radiography , ultrasonography (USG) and computed tomography (CT). All patients were tested for hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), liver function and fetoprotein level. The age of the patients ranged between 17 and 84 years with most of our patients (71.8%) presenting with the complaint of mass abdomen. Male to female ratio was 5.4:1. A raised fetoprotein level was found in 84.3% patients. The largest proportion of tumor pattern found was of the diffuse variety (38%) with majority of lesions affecting the right lobe of the liver. 31.2% patients presented with an abdominal mass that was 10 cm or larger in maximum diameter. Ultrasonography proved to be the most effective, convenient and cost effective radiological modality. In view of our study, routine screening with USG of every patient at higher risk of HCC is recommended.

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