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• Reviews •
Research progress of gadoxetic acid disodium-enhanced MRI in predicting microvascular invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma
CHEN Zhiying  TAN Yan 

Cite this article as CHEN Z Y, TAN Y. Research progress of gadoxetic acid disodium-enhanced MRI in predicting microvascular invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(8): 206-211, 225. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.024.


[Abstract] Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common tumors worldwide, with a high recurrence rate and poor prognosis after treatment. Microvascular invasion (MVI), as a core marker of the aggressive biological behavior of HCC, is an important factor affecting the postoperative recurrence and survival of HCC patients. Currently, the diagnosis of MVI mainly relies on postoperative pathological biopsy, which is invasive and lagging, and cannot provide a precise assessment of the MVI risk level for patients before surgery for clinicians, thus failing to guide the formulation of preoperative neoadjuvant treatment plans. It also cannot provide guidance for the selection of surgical methods and the setting of surgical margins during the operation, and is of no help for preoperative planning and intraoperative decision-making. Traditional imaging examinations (such as CT and conventional ultrasound) have a low sensitivity in showing MVI. Gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (GD-EOB-DTPA), as a liver cell-specific contrast agent, its imaging signs can effectively evaluate the MVI risk and play an important role in non-invasive prediction of HCC MVI before surgery. On this basis, the development of artificial intelligence technology provides a new path for the preoperative prediction of MVI in HCC. This article breaks through the limitations of previous reviews that "generalize and cover multiple imaging techniques", and takes GD-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI as the main thread. This article will review the current research status of GD-EOB-DTPA enhanced MRI imaging signs and related radiomics, habitat imaging and deep learning in predicting HCC MVI, providing personalized treatment for HCC patients and references for clinical diagnosis and treatment.
[Keywords] hepatocellular carcinoma；microvascular invasion；GD-EOB-DTPA；radiomics；deep learning；habitat analysis

CHEN Zhiying1   TAN Yan2*  

1 College of Medical Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China

2 Department of Radiology, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China

Corresponding author: TAN Y, E-mail: tanyan123456@sina.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2026-03-30
Accepted  2026-07-11
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.024
Cite this article as CHEN Z Y, TAN Y. Research progress of gadoxetic acid disodium-enhanced MRI in predicting microvascular invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(8): 206-211, 225. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.024.

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