Preoperative ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT-derived liver fibrosis quantification independently predicts post-hepatectomy liver...

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Medicine
• Oncology
• Hepatology

Background:

• Accurate preoperative risk stratification is essential for preventing post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF).
• Conventional clinical criteria may not fully capture the risk in patients undergoing liver resection.
• Non-invasive methods for assessing liver health are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT's ability to quantitatively assess liver fibrosis.
• To determine if this assessment can predict PHLF in liver cancer patients eligible for resection.
• To identify non-invasive predictors of PHLF.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 107 liver cancer patients undergoing preoperative ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT.
• Quantitative PET parameters (SUVmax, SUVmean, SUVpeak, TBRs) were measured.
• Correlation with histopathological fibrosis and analysis with clinical/surgical variables to identify PHLF predictors.

Main Results:

• PHLF occurred in 28.0% of patients.
• PET parameters correlated significantly with fibrosis stage (P < 0.05).
• Liver-to-aorta SUV ratio (TBRmax), prothrombin time, and major hepatectomy were independent PHLF predictors (P < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Preoperative ⁶⁸Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT provides a non-invasive, histology-confirmed method for quantifying liver fibrosis.
• This technique shows promise for preoperative risk stratification of PHLF.
• Further validation in independent cohorts is warranted.