Quantitative Evaluation of the Relationship between Magnetic Resonance Elastic Value and Pathological Grade of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Magnetic Resonance Elastography

Abstract

Objectives: To try another non-invasive method to evaluate the relationship between Magnetic Resonance (MR) elastic value and pathological grade of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) using Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE). Methods: Forty-seven HCC patients underwent MR Imaging (MRI), elastography in the upper abdomen. The elastic value of the lesion area was measured, and that of the normal liver tissue was measured adjacent to the lesion area at the same level. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the difference in elasticity between the lesion area and normal area, and the difference between the low and middle-high differentiation groups. The Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC) of the lesion area and normal area in the complete case group and different differentiation groups were used to determine the diagnostic cut-off value to distinguish the lesion area from the normal area in each group. Results: (1) There was a significant difference in elasticity between the normal area and HCC area (p<0.001). The diagnostic cut-off value was 4842 Pa. (2) There was a significant difference in elasticity between the low-and middle-high differentiation groups (p<0.001). The diagnostic cut-off value was 10456 Pa. (3) There was a statistically significant correlation between the elastic value on MRE and degree of pathological differentiation of HCC in the two groups (p<0.001). Conclusion: The elastic value of HCC measured using MRE can be used to evaluate the degree of pathological differentiation of HCC. MRE may be a non-invasive and reliable method for evaluating the pathological grade of HCC.