Abstract. The present study compared the diagnostic accuracy of multi-slice spiral computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on small hepatocellular carcinoma (SHCC) caused by hepatitis B cirrhosis. A total of 160 patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis were selected between January 2012 and April 2016, and 183 SHCC lesions were included in the present retrospective study. Patients were divided into the SHCC group (T stage) and the micro hepatocellular carcinoma (MHCC) group (T1 stage). There were a total of 129 SHCC lesions and 54 MHCC lesions identified. All patients underwent multiphasic CT and MRI imaging. The liver acquisition with volume acquisition (LAVA) technique was utilized for MRI. Furthermore, SPSS 20.0 was used for statistical analyses. LAVA in the arterial phase and CT in the arterial phase revealed significantly higher diagnostic rates for the diagnoses of 183 lesions. In addition, standard CT scan exhibited significantly reduced diagnostic rates in SHCC lesions. Results indicated that LAVA in the equilibrium phase had the lowest diagnostic rate in MHCC lesions, which was statistically significant (P<0.05). Overall, the diagnostic rate of CT (79.63%) for MHCC was significantly lower than that of MRI (96.29%) (P<0.05). However, the diagnostic rate of CT for SHCC (96.12%) was significantly higher than that for MHCC (79.63%) (P<0.05). MRI-LAVA in the arterial phase has the highest diagnostic rate for SHCC and MHCC. However, the diagnostic capability of MRI for MHCC lesions is superior to that of CT.
IntroductionLiver cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive system. It has high incidence rates and ranks second in cancer mortality in China (1). It has multiple causes, such as liver cirrhosis, viral infection, chemical carcinogens, alcohol and tobacco, water pollution, and genetic factors (2). Liver cancer caused by hepatitis B infection and cirrhosis is highly prevalent, although it lacks the typical clinical manifestations of liver cancer Moreover, it is particularly important to improve the diagnostic rate of early liver cancer (3). The clinical diagnosis of the hepatocellular cancer involves multiple approaches. Important clinical symptoms like abdominal distension, liver pain, fever, emaciation, debilitation, and jaundice confirms the middle and advanced stage of the disease. The clinically well-established factor being utilized for liver cancer is cirrhosis (4). The diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma could frequently, and uniquely, be made on characteristic multiphase contrast based cross-sectional imaging rather than strict need for tissue sampling. Epigentics is another new area showing good potential in clincal diagnosis of liver cancer. Promising results from microRNA (miRNA/miR) profiling and hypermethylation of selected genes have raised hopes of identifying new biomarkers (5). Furthermore, miR-122, a completely conserved liver-specific miRNA in vertebrates, is essential for the maintenance of liver homeostasis. miR-122 is also being explored for...