Liver metastases beyond classical imaging findings

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Oncology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Liver metastases are the most common secondary liver cancer and significantly impact patient prognosis.
• Current imaging techniques are crucial for detecting, characterizing, and planning treatment for liver metastases.
• There's a growing need to assess biological characteristics for personalized treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of current and emerging imaging techniques for liver metastases.
• To highlight innovations in assessing biological heterogeneity and predicting treatment response.
• To discuss challenges and future directions in advanced liver metastases imaging.

Main Methods:

• Review of classical and advanced imaging modalities.
• Exploration of radiomics and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
• Analysis of imaging's role in assessing histopathologic, molecular, and genetic features.

Main Results:

• Advanced imaging, radiomics, and AI enhance the assessment of tumor heterogeneity.
• These techniques improve predictions of therapeutic response and patient outcomes.
• Imaging can now provide insights into biological characteristics beyond morphology.

Conclusions:

• A paradigm shift is occurring from morphologic to biologically informed imaging for liver metastases.
• Advanced imaging holds significant potential for lesion characterization, prognostic stratification, and treatment planning.
• Overcoming implementation challenges is key to integrating these advanced techniques into clinical practice.