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Zheng T, Qu Y, Chen J, Yang J, Yan H, Jiang H, Song B. Noninvasive diagnosis of liver cirrhosis: qualitative and quantitative imaging biomarkers. Abdom Radiol (NY) 2024:10.1007/s00261-024-04225-8. [PMID: 38372765 DOI: 10.1007/s00261-024-04225-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
A diagnosis of cirrhosis initiates a shift in the management of chronic liver disease and affects the diagnostic workflow and treatment decision of primary liver cancer. Liver biopsy remains the gold standard for cirrhosis diagnosis, but it is invasive and susceptible to sampling bias and observer variability. Various qualitative and quantitative imaging biomarkers based on ultrasound, CT and MRI have been proposed for noninvasive diagnosis of cirrhosis. Qualitative imaging features are easy to apply but have moderate diagnostic sensitivity. Elastography techniques allow quantitative assessment of liver stiffness and are highly accurate for cirrhosis diagnosis. Ultrasound elastography are widely used in clinical practice, while MR elastography has narrower availability. Although not applicable in clinical practice yet, other quantitative imaging features, including liver surface nodularity, linear and volumetric measurement, extracellular volume fraction, liver enhancement on hepatobiliary phase, and parameters derived from diffusion-weighted imaging, can provide additional information of liver morphology, perfusion, and function, thus may increase diagnosis performance. The introduction of radiomics and deep learning has further improved diagnostic accuracy while reducing subjectivity. Several imaging features may also help to assess liver function and outcomes in patients with cirrhosis. In this review, we summarize the qualitative and quantitative imaging biomarkers for noninvasive cirrhosis diagnosis, and the assessment of liver function and outcomes, and discuss the challenges and future directions in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianying Zheng
- Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Yali Qu
- Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Jie Chen
- Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Jie Yang
- Department of Medical Ultrasound, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Hualin Yan
- Department of Medical Ultrasound, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Hanyu Jiang
- Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Bin Song
- Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
- Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
- Department of Radiology, Sanya People's Hospital, Sanya, Hainan, China.
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Tsujita Y, Sofue K, Ueshima E, Ueno Y, Hori M, Murakami T. Clinical Application of Quantitative MR Imaging in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Magn Reson Med Sci 2023; 22:435-445. [PMID: 35584952 PMCID: PMC10552668 DOI: 10.2463/mrms.rev.2021-0152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Viral hepatitis was previously the most common cause of chronic liver disease. However, in recent years, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) cases have been increasing, especially in developed countries. NAFLD is histologically characterized by fat, fibrosis, and inflammation in the liver, eventually leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although biopsy is the gold standard for the assessment of the liver parenchyma, quantitative evaluation methods, such as ultrasound, CT, and MRI, have been reported to have good diagnostic performances. The quantification of liver fat, fibrosis, and inflammation is expected to be clinically useful in terms of the prognosis, early intervention, and treatment response for the management of NAFLD. The aim of this review was to discuss the basics and prospects of MRI-based tissue quantifications of the liver, mainly focusing on proton density fat fraction for the quantification of fat deposition, MR elastography for the quantification of fibrosis, and multifrequency MR elastography for the evaluation of inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yushi Tsujita
- Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Keitaro Sofue
- Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Eisuke Ueshima
- Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Yoshiko Ueno
- Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Hori
- Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Takamichi Murakami
- Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
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Xu W, Li B, Yang Z, Li J, Liu F, Liu Y. Rethinking Liver Fibrosis Staging in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: New Insights from a Large Two-Center Cohort Study. J Hepatocell Carcinoma 2022; 9:751-781. [PMID: 35983561 PMCID: PMC9380840 DOI: 10.2147/jhc.s372577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent and aggressive malignancy closely related to background chronic liver disease. This study aimed to explore predictive factors associated with background liver fibrosis burden in patients with HCC and sought to construct a practical predictive model for clinical use. Methods This large two-center retrospective cohort study evaluated data from Chinese medical centers. Uni- and multivariate ordinal logistic regression analyses were performed to identify variables associated with liver fibrosis stages. Predictive models based on variables identified by multivariate analysis were established in the Derivation Cohort and subjected to internal and external validation. Model performance was evaluated for discriminative and calibration abilities. Results Multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis identified liver fibrosis severity score (LFSS), portal hypertension (PH) severity, plateletcrit (PCT) and model for end-stage liver disease-sodium (MELD-Na) as independent predictors of liver fibrosis stage in HCC patients. Nomograms that integrated these factors disclosed that the area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) to predict S1 in the Derivation and External Validation cohorts were 0.850 and 0.919, respectively. Internal validation disclosed C-indexes of 0.823 and 0.833 in the Derivation and External Validation cohorts, respectively, indicating that the nomogram had good and excellent performance for distinguishing between S1 and non-S1 patients. Nomogram performance in the Derivation and External Validation cohorts, respectively, was fair and good to predict stage S2 (AUROCs 0.726, 0.806; C-indexes 0.713, 0.791); poor for S3 (AUROCs 0.648, 0.698; C-indexes 0.616, 0.666); good for S4 (AUROCs 0.812, 0.824; C-indexes 0.804, 0.792); and good for S3+S4 (AUROCs 0.806, 0.840; C-indexes 0.795, 0.811). Conclusion We propose new predictive models for the staging of background liver fibrosis in patients with HCC that can be implemented into clinical practice as important complements to hepatic imaging to inform HCC management strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Xu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, The First Hospital Affiliated with Hunan Normal University, Changsha, People's Republic of China
| | - Bolun Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, The First Hospital Affiliated with Hunan Normal University, Changsha, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhanwei Yang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, The First Hospital Affiliated with Hunan Normal University, Changsha, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingdong Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, People's Republic of China
| | - Fei Liu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, The First Hospital Affiliated with Hunan Normal University, Changsha, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Liu
- Department of Pathology, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, The First Hospital Affiliated with Hunan Normal University, Changsha, People's Republic of China
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Zou LQ, Liu HF, Du YN, Xing W. Effect of Iron Deposition on Native T1 Mapping and Blood Oxygen Level Dependent for the Assessment of Liver Fibrosis in Rabbits With Carbon Tetrachloride Intoxication. Acad Radiol 2022; 30:873-880. [PMID: 35811218 DOI: 10.1016/j.acra.2022.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES This study aimed to explore the effect of iron deposition on native T1 mapping and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) imaging in detecting liver fibrosis (LF) in a rabbit model. MATERIALS AND METHODS An LF group (n = 100) was established by subcutaneously injecting 50% carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) oil solution, and 20 normal rabbits composed a control group. Native T1 mapping and BOLD were performed, and the T1native and R2* quantitative parameters were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and multiple logistic regression analyses, with histopathological results and liver iron content (LIC) serving as reference standards. RESULTS In total, 18, 17, 16, 18, and 15 rabbits were histopathologically diagnosed with LF stages F0, F1, F2, F3, and F4, respectively. T1native (r = 0.47), R2* (r = 0.75) and LIC (r = 0.61) increased with LF stage progression (p < 0.001). Compared to T1native values, R2* performed better in diagnosing the LF stage, especially for distinguishing F1-F2 from F3-F4 (AUC = 0.66 vs. 0.91, p = 0.01). Combined with the LIC, both T1native and R2* showed improved diagnostic value in comparison to the individual imaging techniques, particularly for diagnosing F0 vs. F1-F2 and F0 vs. F1-F4, with AUC values of 0.90 vs. 0.70 (p = 0.01) and 0.93 vs. 0.77 (p = 0.01) for T1native + LIC vs. LIC, respectively. CONCLUSION BOLD imaging performed better than native T1 mapping in predicting and diagnosing LF stage progression. The decrease in diagnostic accuracy caused by the deposition of liver iron is a potential pitfall in the assessment of LF with BOLD imaging and native T1 mapping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Qiu Zou
- Department of Radiology, Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Hai-Feng Liu
- Department of Radiology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Ya-Nan Du
- Department of Radiology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei Xing
- Department of Radiology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, China.
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