Chinese expert guidance on overall application of lenvatinib in hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华消化外科杂志

Lenvatinib mesylate is an oral receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor against targets of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1-3, fibroblast growth factor receptors 1-4, platelet-derived growth factor receptor α, stem cell growth factor receptor, and rearranged during transfection, et al. Lenvatinib has been approved by the National Medical Products Administration of China on September 4,2018, for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma who have not received systematic treatment before. Up to February 2023, Lenvatinib has been listed in China for more than 4 years, accumulating a series of post-marketing clinical research evidences. Based on the clinical practice before and after the launch of lenvatinib and referring to the clinical experience of other anti-angiogenesis inhibitors, domestic multidisciplinary experts and scholars adopt the Delphi method to formulate the Chinese Expert Guidance on Overall Application of Lenvatinib in Hepatocellular Carcinoma after repeated discussions and revisions, in order to provide reference for reasonable and effective clinical application of lenvatinib for clinicians.

A novel model in predicting very early recurrence after surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective:To study the risk factors of very early recurrence (VER, within 3 months) after R 0 resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to establish a predictive model. Methods:Of 427 HCC patients [with 368 males, 59 females, aged (52.7±12.1) years] who developed early recurrence (within 2 years) after R 0 resection from January to December 2008 at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University were enrolled in the test cohort. Another 590 patients [with 525 males, 65 females, aged (54.7±11.0) years] who underwent R 0 resection from January to June 2009 were enrolled in the validation cohort. Risk factors were investigated and a predictive model was established. Results:In the test cohort, 126 patients (29.5%) developed VER and their survival outcomes were extremely poor. Serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) level >827 μg/L, multiple tumors, microvascular invasion (MVI) and tumor number were independent risk factors for VER. A new predictive model (0.809·AFP+ 1.262·tumor number+ 0.983·MVI) was established by logistic regression in predicting VER after surgery. The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the area under the curve (AUC) in predicting VER was 0.722 (95% CI: 0.669-0.774, P<0.001). In the validation cohort, the AUC of this model was 0.785 (95% CI: 0.715-0.855, P<0.001). Conclusions:A high AFP level, multiple tumors, and MVI were independent risk factors for VER of HCC after R 0 resection. The prediction model consisting of these three factors demonstrated robustness and it has the potential in clinical application.

The use of portal vein embolization combined with lenvatinib and a PD-1 inhibitor to treat patients with initially unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective:To study the safety and treatment outcomes of portal vein embolization (PVE) combined with lenvatinib plus an anti-programmed death-1(PD-1) antibody to treat patients with initially unreasectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC).Methods:This study retrospectively analyzed the data of six patients with uHCC who received first-line combined systemic therapy with lenvatinib plus an anti-PD-1 antibody, and then underwent pre-hepatectomy PVE at the Department of Liver Surgery at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from May 2019 to November 2020. All enrolled patients were males, aged (54.6±6.2) (ranged 46 to 63) years. Tumor response and liver volume were evaluated by medical imagings once every 2 months (±2 weeks) and evaluated using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (version 1.1). Patients were followed-up by outpatient interviews or by phone calls to record their survival and tumor outcome status.Results:Three of the six enrolled patients had Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage A and three had stage B disease. One patient achieved a partial response and five patients had stable diseases. The mean ± s. d. future liver remnant (FLR) percentage was (29.0±8.9) % before PVE and the combination therapy, and was (41.3±10.8) % before the last evaluation for liver surgery ( t=10.79, P<0.001). Hepatectomy was carried out in five patients, and one patient who failed to develop significant FLR hypertrophy did not undergo hepatectomy. Grade B post-hepatectomy liver failure and major postoperative complications (i.e. pleural effusion requiring additional percutaneous drainage) occurred in one patient. After a median post-operative follow-up of 4.5 (range: 1.0-12.3) months, all five patients were alive and were tumor free. Conclusion:PVE followed by hepatectomy is feasible in a uHCC patients receiving systemic therapy with lenvatinib and an anti-PD-1 antibody.

Expert guidance on overall management of liver cancer during the COVID-19 / 中华消化外科杂志

The pandemic of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues, which shows the concentrated or sporadic cases in multiple places. Current COVID situation is still complex. During the COVID-19, routine diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer patients has been affected in different degrees. Under the premise of following the treatment guidelines, how to reduce the risk of infection of patients and medical staff, utilize limited medical resources to maximally ensure anti-tumor treatment and related emergency treatment, and help patients get through the epidemic period is a problem for liver oncologists. Thus, experts of liver cancer treatment related disciplines of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University have written the Expert guidance on overall management of liver cancer during the COVID-19, which aims to provide references for liver oncolo-gists to conduct clinical work safely and effectively under the epidemic prevention and control, and to help patients fight against the epidemic smoothly.

Perioperative immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma / 临床肝胆病杂志

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) greatly threatens the life and health of Chinese people. Most patients with HCC are already in the advanced stage when attending the hospital and are not eligible for radical treatment, and patients in the early stage of HCC who are eligible for radical treatment still face a high risk of recurrence after surgery. In recent years, immunotherapy based on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has made great progress in the treatment of advanced HCC, and perioperative immunotherapy for HCC is attracting more and more attention. Immunotherapy in the perioperative period of HCC can improve the feasibility of hepatectomy, reduce the recurrence rate after hepatectomy, and prolong the survival of patients. This article discusses the application of ICIs-based immunotherapy in the perioperative period of HCC and the issues that need to be considered, so as to provide new ideas for perioperative immunotherapy for HCC.

Clinical efficacy of combination therapy with lenvatinib and programmed death-1 antibodies in unresectable or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of the combination therapy of lenvatinib and programmed death-1 (PD-1) antibodies in unresectable or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinico-pathological data of 59 patients with unresectable or advanced HCC who were admitted to Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University from September 2018 to January 2020 were collected. There were 54 males and 5 females, aged from 25 to 73 years, with a median age of 52 years. All 59 patients underwent combination therapy with lenvatinib and PD-1 antibodies including 43 cases undergoing first-line therapy and 16 cases who cannot tolerate first-line therapy or with tumor progressed after first-line therapy undergoing second-line therapy. Observation indicators: (1) clinical efficacy; (2) adverse drug reactions and treatment; (3) follow-up and survival. Follow-up was performed using outpatient examination or telephone interview to detect tumor diameter of the target lesion, overall survival and progression free survival of patients up to December 2020. Measurement data with skewed distribution were expressed as M ( P25,P75) or M (range). Count data were represented as absolute numbers and (or) percentages. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the median duration of response (DoR), median overall survival time, median progression free survival time, survival rates and draw survival curves. Results:(1) Clinical efficacy: the objective response rate (ORR), complete response rate (CR), partial response rate (PR), stable disease rate (SD), progression disease rate (PD), time to response (TTR) and median DoR of 59 HCC patients were 37.3%(22/59), 11.9%(7/59), 25.4%(15/59), 37.3%(22/59), 25.4%(15/59), 2.6 months(2.1 months, 4.0 months), 6.3 months[95% confidence interval ( CI) as 2.2 to 10.5 months], respectively. The ORR, CR, PR, SD, PD and TTR of 43 HCC patients undergoing first-line therapy were 41.9%(18/43), 16.3%(7/43), 25.6%(11/43), 37.2%(16/43),20.9%(9/43), 2.2 months(2.0 months, 3.5 months), respectively. The median DoR of 43 patients undergoing first-line therapy was not reached. The ORR, CR, PR, SD, PD, TTR and median DoR of 16 HCC patients undergoing second-line therapy were 4/16, 0, 4/16, 6/16, 6/16, 3.8 months (3.6 months, 4.1 months), 4.2 months(95% CI as 2.0 to 6.3 months), respectively. Six of 59 HCC patients underwent R 0 resection due to tumor converting to resectable HCC with the conversion and resection rate of 10.2%(6/59). Among the 6 patients, 5 cases undergoing first-line treatment had the conversion and resection rates of 11.6% (5/43) and 1 case undergoing second-line treatment had the conversion and resection rates of 1/16, respectively. (2) Adverse drug reactions and treatment: 25 of 59 HCC patients underwent 3 to 4 grade adverse drug reactions with the incidence of 42.4%(25/59). Among the 25 patients, 10 cases including 5 cases undergoing first-line therapy and 5 cases undergoing second-line therapy had the level of gamma glutamyltransferase >5×upper limit of normal (ULN), 9 cases including 4 cases undergoing first-line therapy and 5 cases undergoing second-line therapy had the level of aspartate aminotransferase >5×ULN, 5 cases including 4 cases undergoing first-line therapy and 1 case undergoing second-line therapy occurred gastrointestinal hemorrhage, 4 cases undergoing first-line therapy had the level of white blood cell count <2.0×10 9/L, 4 cases including 1 case undergoing first-line therapy and 3 cases under-going second-line therapy had the level of total bilirubin >3×ULN, 3 cases undergoing first-line therapy had the level of neutrophil count <1.0×10 9/L, 3 cases including 2 cases undergoing first-line therapy and 1 case undergoing second-line therapy occurred ascites, 2 cases including 1 case undergoing first-line therapy and 1 case undergoing second-line therapy had the level of platelet count <50.0×10 9/L, 2 cases undergoing first-line therapy had the level of alanine aminotransferase >5×ULN, 2 cases undergoing first-line therapy occurred hyponatremia, 2 cases including 1 case undergoing first-line therapy and 1 case undergoing second-line therapy occurred pulmonary infection, 2 cases including 1 case undergoing first-line therapy and 1 case undergoing second-line therapy occurred type 1 diabetes, 1 case undergoing first-line therapy occurred hypokalemia, 1 case undergoing first-line therapy occurred myocarditis, 1 case undergoing first-line therapy occurred hypophysistis, 1 case undergoing first-line therapy occurred bullous dermatitis, 1 case undergoing first-line therapy occurred hypertension. Three of 59 HCC patients underwent 5 grade adverse drug reactions ,with the incidence of 5.1%(3/59), including 1 case undergoing first-line therapy with immune hepatitis, 1 case undergoing second-line therapy with immune pneumonia and 1 case undergoing second-line therapy with immune enteritis. Some of patients underwent multiple adverse drug reactions at the same time. Twenty five patients undergoing 3 to 4 grade adverse drug reactions were relieved with the treatment of drug reduction, drug withdrawal, symptomatic treatment or hormone therapy. Three patients undergoing 5 grade adverse drug reactions died after being treated with high-dose hormone shock and hepatoprotective treatment. (3) Follow-up and survival: all 59 patients were followed up for 1.5 to 25.2 months, with a median follow-up time of 13.3 months. Of them, patients undergoing first-line therapy were followed up for 1.9 to 25.2 months, with a median follow-up time of 13.5 months. During follow-up,20 cases undergoing first-line therapy died with the fatality rate of 46.5%(20/43). Patients undergoing second-line therapy were followed up for 1.5 to 24.4 months, with a median follow-up time of 10.8 months. During follow-up, 10 cases undergoing second-line therapy died with the fatality rate of 10/16. Up to the latest follow-up, the tumor diameter of the target lesion in all 59 patients, in patients undergoing first-line therapy and in patients undergoing second-line therapy was 75 mm(38 mm, 125 mm), 74 mm(36 mm, 116 mm), 84 mm(48 mm,150 mm), respectively. The ratio of tumor diameter of the target lesion at latest follow-up to tumor diameter of the target lesion at baseline were -9.05%(-27.3%, 19.7%), -16.1%(-28.8%, 13.6%), 13.2%(-24.7%, 23.5%) for all 59 patients, patients undergoing first-line therapy and patients undergoing second-line therapy, respectively. The median overall survival time and median progression free survival time of patients undergoing first-line therapy and patients undergoing second-line therapy were 17.1 months(95% CI as 11.0 to 23.2 months), 10.8 months(95% CI as 5.0 to 16.6 months) and 10.8 months(95% CI as 9.2 to 12.4 months), 3.0 months(95% CI as 1.6 to 4.4 months), respectively. Conclusion:For unresectable or advanced HCC, combination therapy with lenvatinib and PD-1 antibodies can obtain effective antitumor activity and less incidence of adverse drug reactions.

Overall management strategies for liver cancer patients during the COVID-19 outbreak / 中华消化外科杂志

The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) that occurred December of 2019 has a wide range of impacts, and its epidemic situation is grim. China has a large population of liver cancer, accounting for 50% of new cases of liver cancer worldwide. How to ensure the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of liver cancer patients while preventing and controlling the epidemic situation is an issue that urgently need specialists pay attention to. The authors propose an overall management model for patients with liver cancer, combined with their own experience, in order to guide specialists to safely and effectively carry out clinical diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer during the prevention and control of epidemics, and to help liver cancer patients receive treatment.

Mechanisms and control measures of COVID-19 related liver injuries / 中华消化外科杂志

Although the epidemic situation of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been controlled, the epidemic situation remains grim. The COVID-19 is highly infectious, with various clinical manifestations including liver injury. The authors make a preliminary investigation on the mechanisms of liver injury related to COVID-19, and put forward correspon-ding control measures for reference.

Features of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华肝胆外科杂志

The disease burden of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains large both in China and globally.In particular,advanced HCC lacks of effective systemic therapeutic drugs.Recently immune checkpoint inhibitors such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab have been approved for second-line treatment in patients with advanced HCC by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Compare with traditional chemotherapy or targeted therapy,these novel pharmacological approaches have unique therapeutic features,such as durable response,delayed response and manageable safety profile with specific immune-related adverse events that require monitoring.We aim to summarize the characteristics of immuno-oncology therapies on aspects of long-term outcome,response mechanisms and assessment,safety,and special populations,based on clinical trials and real-world data on patients with HCC.

The treatment of early-stage liver cancer / 中华肝脏病杂志

Although the diagnostic rate of early-stage liver cancer is low, only these patients have a chance of radical treatment, and thus related treatment modalities deserve attention. Surgical resection is the preferred choice for the treatment of early-stage liver cancer. For patients with high selectivity, local treatment including radiofrequency ablation can achieve satisfactory outcomes. Liver transplantation is the preferred choice for patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. Early-stage liver cancer has a high postoperative recurrence rate, and the research and development of postoperative adjuvant therapy should be taken seriously.

Advances in basic and clinical research on hepatocellular carcinoma in 2016 / 中华肝脏病杂志

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still one of common malignant cancers worldwide, with increasing incidence and mortality rates. Early diagnosis and effective treatment for HCC remain to be explored. This article introduces the research advances in the early specific diagnosis and effective therapies for HCC in 2016, such as molecular markers in the specific diagnosis and targeted therapy for HCC, main therapeutic regimens, robot-assisted liver resection, and no-touch radiofrequency ablation.

Higher intratumor than peritumor expression of DUSP6/MKP-3 is associated with recurrence after curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The MAPK phosphatases (MKPs) are a family of dual-specificity phosphatases (DUSPs) that can dephosphorylate both phosphothreonine and phosphotyrosine residues, thus inactivating MAPK signaling. DUSP6 is a cytoplasmic MKP that can inactivate ERK. DUSP6 has been implicated in the development of some tumors. The aim of this research was to investigate the expression of DUSP6 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the correlation of DUSP6 with mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), clinicopathological characteristics, and prognosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Tissues from 305 patients who had undergone hepatectomy for HCC was used in this study. The expression of DUSP6, p-ERK, p-JNK, and p-p38α was determined using tissue microarrays for immunohistochemical analysis. The prognostic value of DUSP6 and other clinicopathological factors were evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression of DUSP6 was significantly higher in the tumor tissue when compared to the peritumor or normal liver tissue (P < 0.001). Tumor DUSP6 expression was significantly associated with disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.013). Tumor DUSP6 expression was an independent prognostic factor for DFS (Hazard ratio = 1.635, P = 0.006).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>DUSP6 is over expressed in tumor tissue compared to peritumor or normal liver tissue. Higher expression of DUSP6 in tumor tissue, than in peritumor tissue, is associated with the recurrence after curative resection of HCC, and the relative tumor DUSP6 expression has good power to predict the recurrence of HCC.</p>

Correlation of transcription factor Sp1 expression with clinical and pathological characteristics and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective: To explore the clinical significance of transcription factor Sp1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and association between Sp1 expression and survival in HCC patients. Methods:With the use of immunoreactivity, Sp1 expres-sion and its correlation with other clinicopathological characteristics were examined in a tissue microarray that contains samples from 98 HCC patients. Results:HCC tissues expressed markedly higher levels of Sp1 than did adjacent normal liver tissues. Sp1 expression was closely associated with microvascular invasion, which suggests that HCC with more microvascular invasion is prone to have in-creased Sp1 expression. Overexpression of Sp1 correlates with significantly shorter overall survival and higher recurrence rates in HCC patients after curative resection. Conclusion:Transcription factor Sp1 may be an independent prognostic factor for both overall surviv-al and cumulative recurrence rate.

Multivariate analysis of risk factors of early and late recurrences after resection for primary clear cell carcinoma of liver / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective To investigate the risk factors influencing early and late recurrences after resection of primary clear cell carcinoma of the liver (PCCCL).Methods 214 PCCCL patients treated by curative resection from January 1996 to March 2006 were retrospectively analyzed.Recurrences were classified into early (≤1 year) and late (＞1 year) recurrences.Results 99 patients developed recurrences,with early recurrence in 28 patients and late recurrence in 71 patients.The 3-and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates for recurrent PCCCL were significantly worse than those with no recurrence (68.7％ and 46.2％ vs 72.2％ and 64.3％,P=0.003).The 1-,3-and 5-year OS rates for late recurrence were 100％,80.3％ and 54.6％,which were significantly better than those with early recurrence (85.7％,39.3％ and 25.0％,P=0.001).On multivariate analysis,aminoleucine transferase (ALT) level and vascular invasion were independent risk factors for early recurrence,while age was the only significant risk factor for late recurrence.Conclusions The time to recurrence was the main determinant for prognosis of recurrent PCCCL,Clarifying the different risk factors for early and late recurrences will help postoperative follow-up,early detection of recurrence,and hopefully will improve survival.

Primary clear cell carcinoma of the liver / 中华普通外科杂志

Objective To investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic factors of primary clear cell carcinoma of the liver(PCCCL). Methods A total of 214 PCCCL patients treated by curative resection from January 1996 to March 2006 were retrospectively analyzed. Results The 1-,3-,and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates for PCCCL patients were significantly better than those of non-clear cell hepatocellular carcinoma ( NHCC ) patients ( 90.2％,70.6％,and 55.9％ vs 82.8％,62.7％ and 47.7％,P =0.001 ).Tumor size was significantly smaller in PCCCL group than in NHCC group ( x2 =4.37,P =0.04 ).Tumors of PCCCL group had a lower incidence of vascular invasion ( x2 =9.42,P =0.002) and a better differentiation than those of NHCC group ( x2 =4.30,P =0.04).Serum a-fetoprotein (AFP) level,tumor size,liver cirrhosis,and vascular invasion were independent risk factors impacting OS and disease-free survival (DFS) of PCCCL. Conclusions PCCCL is an uncommon subtype of HCC and has different clinicopathologic characteristics from NHCC. Complete surgical resection is the optimal treatment for PCCCL and its prognosis is much better than that of NHCC.

Value of the conventional liver function tests in the assessment of hepatic reserve / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective To study the risk factors of post-hepatectomy hepatic decompensation (PHD) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.MethodWe reviewed 562 patients with Child-Pugh A classification,who underwent partial hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma at Zhongshan Hospital,Fudan University between July 1st 2007 to December 31st 2007,to study the risk factors of hepatic decompensation.ResultsPreoperative high total bilirubin (TB) and low prealbumin (PA) were independent risk factors of PHD by logistic multivariate analysis ROC analysis revealed the cut-offs of preoperative PA predicting PHD were 0.14 g/L (sensitivity 41.4％; specificity 83.1％).The incidence of PHD was 16.0％ when TB≥20.4 μmol/L and PA＜0.14 g/L(OR=7.276,P=0.002).ConclusionThe Child-Pugh A patients recovered well when the preoperative liver function was as follows:TB＜20.4 μmol/L and PA≥0.14 g/L.

Techniques of anatomical liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma:a report of 125 cases / 中华消化外科杂志

Objective To summarize the techniques of anatomical liver resection for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods The clinical data of 125 patients with solitary HCC who underwent anatomical liver resection at the Zhongshan Hospital from January 2005 to December 2006 were retrospectively analysed.The inflow and outflow of hepatic segments to be resected were selectively clamped,then the main branches of portal vein and hepatic artery were ligated,and the ischemic hepatic segments were resected en bloc.Kelly forceps were used to crash and clamp the liver cut surface.The stumps of left and right hepatic ducts were continuously sutured with Prolene sutures.For tumors with the size above 10 cm in diameter,hepatectomy with anterior approach and liver hanging maneuver were adopted.Bile leakage was checked by injecting methylene blue or covering a gauze on the liver cut surface.Results The mean blood loss of all patients was 250 ml(100-6000 ml),and 32 of them needed blood transfusion.The morbidity was 23%(29/125).No patient died within 30 days after the operation,and 6%(5/83)of patients were found with residual tumor by postoperative arteriography.Conclusion Anatomical liver resection may improve the safety of operation,prevent the injury of great vessels and thus improve the efficacy.

Assessment of antiangiogenic therapy in a nude murine hepatocellular carcinoma model with real-time gray-scale contrast-enhanced ultrasonography / 中华超声影像学杂志

ular perfusion in tumors objectively, which is potential in monitoring tumor vascular response to antiangiogenic therapy.

Quantitative analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography on hepatocellular carcinoma: Correlation with tumor differentiated grades / 中国医学影像技术

Objective To investigate the relationship between hemodynamic parameters from quantitative analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and pathological tumor differentiated grades. Methods Seventy-seven HCC lesions were examinated and off-line analyzed with dynamic images. Quantitative parameters such as slope of decrease to half of peak (SD), increased signal intensity (ISI), area under the curve (AUC) and blood flow coefficient (BF) were acquired, and the standardized values (sISI, sAUC and sBF) included the ratio of parameters from tumor to those from hepatic parenchyma. These quantitative parameters were correlated with tumor grades according to Edmonson criteria. Results There was significant difference (P＜0.05) of SD, AUC and BF, as well as standardized values (sISI, sAUC and sBF) between different grades of HCC. AUC, BF, sISI, sAUC and sBF were negative correlated with differentiated grades, respectively (P＜0.05). Well-differentiated HCC had significantly higher perfusion values than HCC of other grades (P＜0.05). Conclusion Quantitative analysis of CEUS can assess differentiation of HCC indirectly, and might reveal biological behavior of malignant tumors.

Quantitative assessment of angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinomas with contrast-enhanced ultrasonography: preliminary clinical research / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective To investigate the feasibility of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography(CEUS) in quantitative assessment of angiogenesis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods Thirtythree patients with HCCs confirmed by pathology underwent CEUS in one week preoperatively.The presets and contrast dosage were fixed in all the studies.The new quantitative software with GAMMA fitting technique was used to analyze the dynamic images offline.The quantitative parameters such as baseline intensity,increased signal intensity(ASI),decent curvature(a2),up slope rate(a3),arrive time(AT), time to peak(TTP), accelerate time(ACT),peak intensity(PI),and area under curve(AREA) were calculated.The pathological specimen was stained with CD34 antibady and microvessel density (MVD) was calculated automatically.The correlation between parameters of CEUS and MVD was analyzed statistically.Results The parameters of ASI, a2, a3, AT, TTP, PI and ACT in the tumor were significantly different from those in liver parenehyma ( P＜0.01 ).The value of a2 in the tumor was correlated with MVD, the standardized ASI and AREA were correlated with MVD (P＜0.05).Conclusions The quantitative analysis with CEUS reflects the microvascular perfusion flow objectively.It provides a noninvasive imaging method to assess the angiogenesis in HCCs.