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Updated: Jul 3, 2025
Non-Invasive PET/MR Imaging in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Published on: August 31, 2022
Additional nodules detected using EOB-MRI in patients with resectable single hepatocellular carcinoma: an implication
Na Reum Kim1, Seoung Yoon Rho2, Jonathan Navarro3
1Division of Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Background/Aim:
Gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (EOBMRI) further enhances the identification of additional hepatic nodules compared with computed tomography (CT) alone; however, the optimal treatment for such additional nodules remains unclear. We investigated the long-term oncological effect of aggressive treatment strategies for additional lesions identified using EOB-MRI in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods:
Data from 522 patients diagnosed with solitary HCC using CT between January 2008 and December 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis was used to compare the oncologic outcomes between patients with solitary HCC and those with additional nodules on EOB-MRI after aggressive treatment (resection or radiofrequency ablation [RFA]).
Results:
Among the 383 patients included, 59 had additional nodules identified using EOB-MRI. Compared with patients with solitary HCC, those with additional nodules on EOB-MRI had elevated total bilirubin, aspartate transaminase, and alanine transaminase; had a lower platelet count, higher MELD score, and highly associated with liver cirrhosis (P<0.05). Regarding long-term outcomes, 59 patients with solitary HCC and those with additional nodules after PSM were compared. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were comparable between the two groups (DFS, 60.4 vs. 44.3 months, P=0.071; OS, 82.8 vs. 84.8 months, P=0.986).
Conclusion:
The aggressive treatment approach, either resection or RFA, for patients with additional nodules identified on EOBMRI was associated with long-term survival comparable with that for solitary HCC. However, further studies are required to confirm these findings.
