[Early HCC and adenomatous hyperplasia: evaluation of arterial and portal blood flow with CTA, CTAP, and pathologic
H Honda1, T Tajima, K Kajiyama
1Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University.
Insights
Early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) shows fewer normal hepatic arteries within the tumor compared to surrounding liver tissue. This reduction in intratumoral arteries may be a key characteristic of early-stage HCC.
Area of Science:
- Hepatobiliary imaging
- Vascular pathology
- Oncology
Background:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary liver cancer.
- Distinguishing early HCC from benign liver lesions like adenomatous hyperplasia (AH) is crucial for effective treatment.
- Understanding the vascular changes in early HCC is important for diagnosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the hemodynamic properties of early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and adenomatous hyperplasia (AH).
- To correlate imaging findings with histopathological characteristics.
- To identify potential imaging biomarkers for early HCC detection.
Main Methods:
- Correlation of computed tomography angiography (CTA) and computed tomography arterial portography (CTAP) findings with histopathology.
- Microscopic examination of three lesions (two HCCs, one AH) showing specific attenuation patterns.
- Analysis of the number and morphology of hepatic arteries within the lesions.
Main Results:
- Lesions appeared hypoattenuating on CTA and isoattenuating on CTAP.
- A decreased number of normal hepatic arteries was observed within the tumors compared to the liver.
- Microscopic findings included degeneration and narrowing of arterial lumens.
- Tumors exhibited a replacing growth pattern with portal tract numbers similar to the liver.
Conclusions:
- The reduced number of intratumoral normal arteries is a suspected characteristic finding in early-stage HCC.
- This vascular alteration may aid in differentiating early HCC from other liver lesions.
- Further studies are warranted to validate these findings in larger cohorts.
Abstract:
In order to analyze the hemodynamic properties of early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and adenomatous hyperplasia (AH), three lesions (two HCCs, one AH) depicted as hypoattenuating at CTA and iso attenuating at CTAP were correlated with the histopathological findings. The number of normal hepatic arteries in the tumor was lower than in the liver. Degeneration and narrowing of the lumens were also seen microscopically. All tumors showed the replacing growth pattern and had similar numbers of the portal tracts in the tumor to the liver. The decreased number of intratumoral normal arteries is suspected to be a characteristic finding of the early stage of HCC.
