Abstract
BackgroundHypovascular nodules often occur together with hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, it remains controversial whether hypovascular nodules associated with hypervascular HCC have any prognostic value. This study evaluated the prognostic impact of hypovascular nodules co-existing with hypervascular HCC as diagnosed by computed tomography during arterial portography (CTAP) and computed tomography during hepatic arteriography (CTHA), which can sensitively capture the dynamic changes in blood flow through the portal vein and hepatic artery in patients with early stage HCC.MethodsA total of 152 patients with hypervascular HCC (≤ 30 mm, ≤ 3 nodules), who underwent initial local ablation, were analyzed retrospectively. All patients received CTAP and CTHA prior to treatment. Overall survival (OS) was compared among group A (hypervascular HCC only, 107 patients) and group B (hypovascular nodules and hypervascular HCC, 45 patients).ResultsAmong all hypovascular nodules, 81% (46 of 57) developed hypervascularization within the follow-up period. The 1- and 2-year hypervascularization rates were 17% and 51%, respectively. OS was significantly longer for group A than for group B (P < 0.001). A Cox proportional-hazards model identified the presence of hypovascular nodules concurrent with hypervascular HCC as an independent poor prognostic factor.ConclusionThe prognosis of hypervascular HCC patients with hypovascular nodules detected during CTAP and CTHA is poor. Clinical HCC categories seem to be dissimilar between patients with and without hypovascular nodules.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide [1]
This study evaluated the prognostic impact of hypovascular nodules co-existing with hypervascular HCC as diagnosed by computed tomography during arterial portography (CTAP) and computed tomography during hepatic arteriography (CTHA), which can sensitively capture the dynamic changes in blood flow through the portal vein and hepatic artery in patients with early stage HCC
A Cox proportional-hazards model identified the presence of hypovascular nodules concurrent with hypervascular HCC as an independent poor prognostic factor
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide [1]. The intranodular arterial blood supply first decreases during the early stages of carcinogenesis but subsequently increases in parallel with the progressive increase in the grade of malignancy This progression has mainly been studied through computed tomography (CT) during arterial portography (CTAP) and CT during hepatic arteriography (CTHA) [6,7,8] because this imaging can sensitively capture the dynamic changes in blood flow through the portal vein and hepatic artery. This study evaluated the prognostic impact of hypovascular nodules co-existing with hypervascular HCC as diagnosed by computed tomography during arterial portography (CTAP) and computed tomography during hepatic arteriography (CTHA), which can sensitively capture the dynamic changes in blood flow through the portal vein and hepatic artery in patients with early stage HCC
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