Visual transient elastography combined with liver steatosis analysis for assessing liver function injury after ablation / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the value of a novel technique called visual transient elastography (ViTE) and liver steatosis analysis (LiSA) in assessing liver function injury in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-related HCC) patients after ablation therapy.Methods:A total of 129 HBV-related HCC patients in Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital from January 2022 to August 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.ViTE and LiSA examinations were applied to record the liver stiffness E value and LiSA value before ablation. An albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score was constructed using laboratory indicators. Spearman correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between E value, LiSA value and ALBI score, body mass index (BMI). According to the change of ALBI grade in perioperative period, the patients could be divided into two groups liver function unchanged group and liver function injury group. Univariate and multivariate statistical methods were used to analyze related factors affecting changes in liver function after ablation, followed by establishing a predictive model.Results:Spearman analysis showed a strong positive correlation between E value and ALBI score ( rs=0.686, P<0.001), and LiSA value was weakly positively correlated with BMI ( rs=0.338, P<0.001). There were no significant correlations between E value and BMI, LiSA value and ALBI score (all P>0.05). Univariate analysis showed that differences of age, BMI, ablation parameters, E value, and LiSA value in the two groups were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that E value, LiSA value, and ablation time were independent predictors of hepatic dysfunction after ablation (all P<0.05). AUC was 0.892 indicating high accuracy in the predictive model based on above indicators. Conclusions:Under the real-time ultrasound guidance, a non-invasive liver function injury prediction model based on ViTE and LiSA technology can offer personalized predictions for ablative perioperative changes in liver function among HBV-related HCC patients.