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| Prediction of microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma with preoperative imaging radiomic analysis: Is it ready for prime time? |
| Gang Xu, Hua-Yu Yang, Hai-Feng Xu ∗ |
Department of Liver Surgery, Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) Hospital, PUMC & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: xuhf781120@sina.com (H.-F. Xu). |
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Abstract Microvascular invasion (MVI), also known as microvascular tumor embolism, refers to the cancer cell nest in vessels lined with endothelial cells. MVI may be found in the small branches of the portal vein and hepatic vein. Occasionally, MVI may also exist in the hepatic artery, bile duct and lymphatic vessels. The incidence of MVI in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients ranges from 15% to 57.1%, and MVI can predict the risks of tumor recurrence and long-term survival after surgery [1,2] . However, MVI is different from macrovascular invasion, and MVI cannot be preoperatively diagnosed by imaging. Due to the heterogeneity of HCC and the limited amount of tissue obtained by biopsy, clinicians cannot accurately assess the MVI status of HCC [3] and therefore, the identification of MVI is still based on histopathological examination of resected surgical specimens. Owing to its late postoperative diagnosis, MVI has limited usefulness in current clinical practice. An accurate preoperative evaluation method for MVI can provide an effective basis for individualized treatment plans for each patient. Currently, the preoperative assessment of MVI in HCC with non-invasive methods has become a hot topic.
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2019, Vol. 18 
