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Iezzi R, Posa A, Valente I, Contegiacomo A, Zocco MA, Pompili M, Annicchiarico BE, Ponziani FR, Basso M, Goldberg SN, Giuliante F, Gasbarrini A, Sala E. Hug sign in intraprocedural cone-beam-CT to predict short-term response to combined treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. LA RADIOLOGIA MEDICA 2024; 129:807-816. [PMID: 38512624 PMCID: PMC11088537 DOI: 10.1007/s11547-024-01805-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Combined treatment of ablation and chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma represents a promising therapy to increase treatment efficacy and improve patient survival. The "hug sign" is a recently introduced radiological sign consisting in deposition of beads/contrast agent during transarterial chemoembolization in the hyperemic area surrounding the post-ablation volume, seen during intraprocedural unenhanced cone-beam CT, that may indicate intraprocedural success. Aim of our retrospective study was to analyze the usefulness of the "hug sign" at the intraprocedural unenhanced cone-beam CT as an early predictor of response to combined treatment, based on the hug sign angle. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between January 2017 and September 2021 all patients with hepatocellular carcinoma which underwent a combined treatment of thermal ablation followed by chemoembolization were enrolled. All treated patients underwent immediate post-procedural unenhanced cone-beam CT to evaluate the deposition of contrast agent, lipiodol or radiopaque beads and to assess the percentage of coverage of the ablated area with the contrast agent (hug sign angle). Patients with missing pre-procedural, intra-procedural and/or post-procedural data/imaging, or with poor-quality post-procedural cone-beam CT images were excluded. RESULTS 128 patients (mean age, 69.3 years ± 1.1 [standard deviation]; 87 men) were evaluated. Our study evidenced that 84.4% (81/85) of patients with a hug sign angle of 360° had no residual tumor at the first 1-/3-months follow-up examination. A hug sign angle of 360° also showed to be an independent protective factor against residual tumor at multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION Unenhanced cone-beam CT performed at the end of a combined treatment with ablation plus chemoembolization can effectively predict an early treatment response on radiological images, when a hug sign angle of 360° was detected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Iezzi
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Oncologic Radiotherapy, and Hematology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, L.Go A. Gemelli 8, 00168, Rome, Italy.
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
- U.O.C. Radiologia d'Urgenza e Interventistica, Dipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, L.go A. Gemelli 8, 00168, Rome, Italy.
| | - Alessandro Posa
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Oncologic Radiotherapy, and Hematology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, L.Go A. Gemelli 8, 00168, Rome, Italy
- U.O.C. Radiologia d'Urgenza e Interventistica, Dipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, L.go A. Gemelli 8, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - Iacopo Valente
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Oncologic Radiotherapy, and Hematology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, L.Go A. Gemelli 8, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Contegiacomo
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Oncologic Radiotherapy, and Hematology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, L.Go A. Gemelli 8, 00168, Rome, Italy
- U.O.C. Radiologia d'Urgenza e Interventistica, Dipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, L.go A. Gemelli 8, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Assunta Zocco
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Maurizio Pompili
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Francesca Romana Ponziani
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Basso
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Shraga Nahum Goldberg
- Division of Image-Guided Therapy, Department of Radiology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Felice Giuliante
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Gasbarrini
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Evis Sala
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Oncologic Radiotherapy, and Hematology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, L.Go A. Gemelli 8, 00168, Rome, Italy
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
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Fronda M, Mistretta F, Calandri M, Ciferri F, Nardelli F, Bergamasco L, Fonio P, Doriguzzi Breatta A. The Role of Immediate Post-Procedural Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in Predicting the Early Radiologic Response of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Nodules to Drug-Eluting Bead Transarterial Chemoembolization (DEB-TACE). J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11237089. [PMID: 36498664 PMCID: PMC9740708 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11237089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Revised: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of unenhanced cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) performed at the end of drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) in predicting HCC nodules’ early radiologic response to treatment, assessed using mRECIST criteria with a 30−60 day four-phase contrast-enhanced CT follow-up. Fifty-nine patients (81 lesions) subjected to DEB-TACE as exclusive treatment for HCC lesions (naive/relapse) between February 2020 and October 2021 were prospectively enrolled. In a post-interventional unenhanced CBCT procedure, two experienced radiologists evaluated for each lesion the overall intensity of the contrast media deposit, the homogeneity of the enhancement, and the presence of smooth and complete margins. The univariate analysis found that lesions with complete response (CR+) had a significantly higher incidence of clear and complete margins than CR− lesions (76.9% vs. 17.2%, p = 0.003) and a higher intensity score (67.3% vs. 27.6%, p = 0.0009). A Dmax <30 mm was significantly more common among CR+ than CR− lesions (92.3% vs. 69%, p = 0.01). These features were confirmed as significant predictors for CR+ by multivariate binary logistic regression. The homogeneity of the enhancement did not affect the DEB-TACE outcome. Post-interventional unenhanced CBCT is effective in predicting early radiological response to DEB-TACE, since the presence of an intense contrast media deposit with clear and complete margins in treated HCC lesions is associated with CR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Fronda
- Radiology Unit, Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Via Genova 3, 10126 Turin, Italy
| | - Francesco Mistretta
- Radiology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino, Via Genova 3, 10126 Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Calandri
- Radiology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino, Via Genova 3, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Fernanda Ciferri
- Radiology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino, Via Genova 3, 10126 Turin, Italy
| | - Floriana Nardelli
- Radiology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino, Via Genova 3, 10126 Turin, Italy
| | - Laura Bergamasco
- Department of Surgical Sciences, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino, C.so Bramante 88, 10126 Turin, Italy
| | - Paolo Fonio
- Radiology Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, University of Torino, Via Genova 3, 10126 Turin, Italy
| | - Andrea Doriguzzi Breatta
- Radiology Unit, Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, A.O.U. Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Via Genova 3, 10126 Turin, Italy
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Bucalau AM, Tancredi I, Verset G. In the Era of Systemic Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Is Transarterial Chemoembolization Still a Card to Play? Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:5129. [PMID: 34680278 PMCID: PMC8533902 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13205129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Conventional transarterial embolization (cTACE) has been proven to be effective for intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with a recent systematic review showing an overall survival (OS) of 19.4 months. Nevertheless, due to the rapid development of the systemic therapeutic landscape, the place of TACE is becoming questionable. Is there still a niche for TACE in the era of immunotherapy and combination treatments such as atezolizumab-bevacizumab, which has shown an OS of 19.2 months with excellent tolerance? The development of drug-eluting microspheres (DEMs) has led to the standardization of the technique, and along with adequate selection, it showed an OS of 48 months in a retrospective study. In order to increase treatment selectivity, new catheters have also been added to the TACE arsenal as well as the use of cone-beam CT (CBCT), which provides three-dimensional volumetric images and guidance during procedures. Moreover, the TACE indications have also widened. It may serve as a "bridging therapy" for liver transplantation candidates while they are on the waiting list, and it represents a valuable downstaging tool to transplantation criteria. The aim of this review is to explore the current data on the advancements of TACE and its future place amongst the growing panel of treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana-Maria Bucalau
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatopancreatology and Digestive Oncology, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1070 Brussels, Belgium;
| | - Illario Tancredi
- Department of Interventional Radiology, Hôpital Erasme, 1070 Brussels, Belgium;
| | - Gontran Verset
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatopancreatology and Digestive Oncology, Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 1070 Brussels, Belgium;
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