Abstract: Objective To compare the ultrasonographic characteristics between hepatic neuroendocrine neoplasm (hNEN) and hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods Twenty-two patients with hNEN treated in our department from February 2017 to August 2019 were selected, including 14 males and 8 females, 1 case of primary hNEN and 21 cases of metastatic hNEN, with an average age of (50.6 ± 10.0) years. The primary sites of metastatic hNEN included pancreas (n = 8), stomach (n = 5), small intestine (n = 4), colorectal (n = 3) and lung (n = 1). During the same period, 30 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were randomly selected, including 23 males and 7 females, 26 cases of primary hepatocellular carcinoma and 4 cases of metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma, with an average age of (52.2 ± 7.9) years. The measurement data were expressed as (±s), compared with t-test, and the count data were expressed as (%) and compared with chi-square test. Results Using conventional ultrasound, there were significant differences in the average number of lesions, boundary, internal echo, echotexture and posterior echo attenuation between hNEN and hepatocellular carcinoma (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in lesion location, size and blood flow signal (P > 0.05). Using contrast-enhanced ultrasound, there were significant differences in the initial enhancement washout time, enhancement duration and washout rate between hNEN and hepatocellular carcinoma (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in initial enhancement time, enhancement rate, enhancement pattern and enhancement degree (P > 0.05). Conclusion Both conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography can effectively show the difference between hNEN and hepatocellular carcinoma, which were helpful to the differentiation of the 2 kinds of lesions in clinical practice.

Key words: Hepatic neuroendocrine neoplasm, Contrast-enhanced ultrasound, SonoVue, Primary liver cancer, Metastatic liver cancer