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Advances in histology and imaging studies of vascular encroachment of tumor clusters in hepatocellular carcinoma
YANG Zhixuan  ZHU Shaocheng 

Cite this article as: YANG Z X, ZHU S C. Advances in histology and imaging studies of vascular encroachment of tumor clusters in hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(5): 217-222. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.05.033.


[Abstract] Vascular encroachment of tumor clusters (VETC) is a distinctive microvascular pattern in tumorigenesis, progression, metastasis, and prognosis, particularly prevalent in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). VETC-positive HCC patients typically exhibit shorter survival, higher recurrence rates, and poorer outcomes. Historically, VETC diagnosis in HCC relied on pathology. However, advancements in imaging, radiomics, and artificial intelligence (AI) now enable semi-quantitative visual assessment. The study has found that VETC is closely related to the state of microvessels. VETC-positive HCC shows a specific enhancement pattern in imaging. The radiomics model demonstrates high accuracy in predicting VETC. However, most of the current studies are designed as single-center retrospective studies, with a limited sample size and a lack of standardized processes. The future research directions should include: expanding the sample size, conducting multi-center prospective studies, optimizing the radiomics algorithm, and combining multi-modal imaging techniques to improve the clinical applicability of VETC prediction. This article will review the research progress of VETC in histology, the relationship between VETC and the state of microvessels, and the imaging characteristics of VETC-positive HCC, aiming to provide a reference for the clinical diagnosis and treatment plan of HCC and offer new ideas for related research.
[Keywords] vascular encircling tumor cluster；hepatocellular carcinoma；radiomics；artificial intelligence；histology；microvascular state；imaging

YANG Zhixuan1   ZHU Shaocheng2, 3*  

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

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

3 Department of Radiology, Fuwai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital, Zhengzhou 450000, China

Corresponding author: ZHU S C, E-mail: zsc2686@163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2024-12-05
Accepted  2025-05-10
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.05.033
Cite this article as: YANG Z X, ZHU S C. Advances in histology and imaging studies of vascular encroachment of tumor clusters in hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(5): 217-222. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.05.033.

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