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• Clinical Article •
Predicting vessels encapsulating tumor clusters in hepatocellular carcinoma using combination clinical biomarkers and MR features nomogram
MENG Cunzhong  ZHAO Fan  SHENG Yuwu 

Cite this article as: MENG C Z, ZHAO F, SHENG Y W. Predicting vessels encapsulating tumor clusters in hepatocellular carcinoma using combination clinical biomarkers and MR features nomogram[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(3): 58-62. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.03.009.


[Abstract] Objective To develop a nomogram combining clinical biomarkers and MRI features to predict vessels encapsulating tumor clusters (VETC) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Materials and Methods Retrospective analysis of clinical and imaging data of 213 patients with surgical pathologically confirmed HCC, and the patients were divided into training and validation cohorts in a ratio of 7∶3 according to chronological order, and the differences in clinical, pathological and imaging features between the two groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the independent risk factors, including clinical biomarkers and imaging features for VETC in training cohort. Nomogram for predicting VETC were developed based on the results of regression analysis, and this nomogram was validated using the validation cohort.Results One hundred and forty-eight patients were included in the training cohort and 65 patients in the validation cohort, and there was no statistical difference in clinical, pathological and imaging features between the two groups. In the logistic regression analysis, AFP > 400 ng/mL, larger tumor diameter, greater number of tumors, non-smooth tumor margin and presence of intra-tumoral artery were the independent risk factors for predicting VETC. The C index of the nomogram developed based on the above factors was 0.825 and 0.817 in the training and validation cohort, respectively.Conclusions The nomogram developed by clinical biomarkers and MRI features has good accuracy in predicting VETC and can directly visualize the probability of VETC, which can facilitate personalized treatment plans.
[Keywords] hepatocellular carcinoma；vessels encapsulating tumor clusters；clinical biomarker；magnetic resonance imaging；imaging feature；nomogram

MENG Cunzhong   ZHAO Fan   SHENG Yuwu*  

Department of CT/MRI, Wuwei People's Hospital, Wuwei 733000, China

Corresponding author: SHENG Y W, E-mail: 631167315@qq.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2024-10-23
Accepted  2025-02-27
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.03.009
Cite this article as: MENG C Z, ZHAO F, SHENG Y W. Predicting vessels encapsulating tumor clusters in hepatocellular carcinoma using combination clinical biomarkers and MR features nomogram[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(3): 58-62. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.03.009.

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