Is intravoxel incoherent motion magnetic resonance imaging useful for predicting hepatocellular cancer recurrence and...

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Oncology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary liver malignancy.
• Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a standard treatment for unresectable HCC.
• Predicting treatment response and tumor invasion is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) parameters in predicting therapeutic response to TACE in HCC patients.
• To assess the role of IVIM in identifying peritumoral invasion in HCC following TACE.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 47 HCC patients treated with TACE was retrospectively analyzed.
• IVIM-derived metrics, including apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), D, D*, and f, were measured in treated, peritumoral, and parenchymal liver areas.
• Statistical analysis was performed to correlate IVIM metrics with treatment outcomes and invasion status.

Main Results:

• Higher ADC and D values in TACE-treated areas (ADCtace, Dtace) were associated with non-progression compared to progression (P < 0.05).
• Peritumoral D values (Dpt) demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.73 in distinguishing progressive from non-progressive groups.
• Normalized peritumoral D values (Dstd) were significantly higher in non-progressing patients than in progressing patients.

Conclusions:

• IVIM parameters (ADCtace, Dtace, Dpt, Dstd) effectively reflect microstructural changes post-TACE in HCC.
• These IVIM metrics show strong diagnostic performance for predicting therapeutic response and peritumoral invasion after TACE treatment.
• IVIM imaging holds potential as a non-invasive tool for monitoring HCC treatment efficacy and assessing local tumor spread.