Extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma: US characteristics and accuracy in demonstration of tumors.

PURPOSE

To assess the accuracy of ultrasonography (US) in the demonstration of extrahepatic biliary tree cholangiocarcinoma and to analyze US features of the different morphologic types of this tumor.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

US findings were reviewed retrospectively in 49 patients with pathologically proved cholangiocarcinoma. Findings from percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (n = 47) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) (n = 2) were compared with those from US.

RESULTS

US demonstrated the tumor in 47 (96%) of the 49 patients; a mass was demonstrated in 44 patients, and a focal or diffuse thickening of the bile duct wall was seen in three patients.

CONCLUSION

The accuracy of US in depicting cholangiocarcinoma was attributable to the skill of the radiologists who performed the study and evaluated the findings and to the high frequency of tumor at the hilar level, where the liver and gallbladder allowed a clear acoustic window that facilitated detection of tumors.