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Research progress in evaluating microvascular metastases patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma by Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MRI
GAO Miaohui  ZHOU Yiran  ZHU Shaocheng 

Cite this article as: GAO M H, ZHOU Y R, ZHU S C. Research progress in evaluating microvascular metastases patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma by Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MRI[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2023, 14(7): 160-165. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2023.07.029.


[Abstract] Microvascular invasion (MVI) and vessels encapsulating tumor clusters (VETC), two patterns of blood-borne metastases underlying distinct microvascular structures and molecular mechanisms in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues, are closely related to the postoperative recurrence and treatment of patients. Since the diagnosis is currently mainly confirmed by histopathologic examination after surgical resection, it is important to find a non-invasive preoperative assessment of MVI and VETC. It has been proposed that many imaging features based on gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethyle netriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) enhanced MRI are used to predict MVI and VETC. On this basis, the radiomics and artificial intelligence developed further improve the accuracy of prediction and become a research hotspot in recent years, various radiomics models have been established to predict microvascular metastasis patterns in HCC. This article will review the current research status of Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MRI imaging features and related radiomics and artificial intelligence technology for evaluating MVI and VETC, attempt to explore the main limitations and future research directions of each technology in clinical practice, in order to promote the development of related research, help clinical doctors choose appropriate treatment methods and improve survival of patients.
[Keywords] hepatocellular carcinoma；microvascular invasion；vessels encapsulating tumor clusters；magnetic resonance imaging；Gd-EOB-DTPA；radiomics；artificial intelligence

GAO Miaohui1   ZHOU Yiran2   ZHU Shaocheng3*  

1 Department of Medical Imaging, Henan Provincial People's Hospital of Henan University, Zhengzhou 450003, China

2 Department of Medical Imaging, Henan Provincial People's Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College, Xinxiang 453003, China

3 Department of Medical Imaging, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou 450003, China

Corresponding author: Zhu SC, E-mail: zsc2686@163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special Project of Key R＆D and Promotion in Henan Province (Scientific and Technological Research) (No. 212102310729).
Received  2022-12-30
Accepted  2023-06-25
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2023.07.029
Cite this article as: GAO M H, ZHOU Y R, ZHU S C. Research progress in evaluating microvascular metastases patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma by Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MRI[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2023, 14(7): 160-165. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2023.07.029.

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