Prognostic and pathological implications of contrast-enhanced ultrasound features in hepatocellular carcinoma

作者：Yuling Wang, Suwan Chai, Wenjia Cai, Jie Yu, Ping Liang · 发表于：Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.4103/jcrt.jcrt_1155_23 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis、Organ Transplantation Techniques and Outcomes、Angiogenesis and VEGF in Cancer

Background: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) plays a vital role in diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and, to some extent, reflects tumor prognosis. This suggests that some pathological features of HCC may be associated with CEUS features. Aim: This study aimed to verify the prognostic significance of four CEUS features and further explore their pathological significance. Materials and Methods: This study included 243 HCC patients who underwent a preoperative CEUS examination. All pathological diagnoses and immunohistochemical information were obtained from the pathological report. The prognostic significance of four CEUS features, including nodule-in-nodule architecture, mosaic architecture, intratumoral feeding arteries, and peritumoral arterial phase (AP) hyperenhancement, was analyzed. The correlation between prognostic-related features and immunohistochemical information was further analyzed. Results: The disease-free survival (DFS) of HCC was significantly affected by mosaic architecture or intratumoral feeding arteries (HR = 1.79; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.09-2.95; P = 0.004; HR = 1.70; 95% CI, 1.07-2.71; P = 0.025, respectively). Intratumoral feeding arteries were positively correlated with the expression of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), microvascular invasion (MVI), differentiation, size, and Ki-67, among which the correlation with size was the strongest, followed by Ki-67 and MVI. The mosaic architecture was positively correlated with serum AFP,...