Investigating the value of pre-treatment 18F-FDG PET/CT in predicting the pathological characteristic of hepatocellular carcinoma and recurrence after liver transplantation

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the value of pre-treatment 18 F-FDG PET/CT in predicting the pathological characteristic of HCC and recurrence after liver transplantation (LT). Methods A total of 34 patients who underwent 18 F-FDG PET/CT before LT for HCC and did not receive any other treatment were retrospectively enrolled in the study. The maximal standard uptake value of the tumor (T-SUVmax), normal liver tissues (L-SUVmax), and mediastinal blood pool (B-SUVmax) were derived, followed by the calculations of the T-SUVmax/L-SUVmax (T/L) and the T-SUVmax/B-SUVmax (T/B) ratios. Combined with the post-transplantation pathological results and ROC curve, the performance in predicting the pathological characteristic and the recurrence after LT were evaluated.

2022 KLCA-NCC Korea practice guidelines for the management of hepatocellular carcinoma

“…Imaging of the brain, bone scintigraphy, and 18 F-FDG PET-CT may be performed [ 386 ]. 18 F-FDG PET-CT can help characterizing the biology of HCC, since PETpositive tumors more frequently display unfavorable histological features (e.g., high cellular dedifferentiation and microvascular invasion) [ 387 ], resulting in poorer recurrence-free survival (RFS) after LT [ 388 , 389 ]. There has been no specific study nor consensus on the optimal timing or modality for evaluation of patients on the waiting list to monitor whether they remain within the acceptability criteria for LT, although dynamic CT or MRI and AFP measurement at a 3-month interval is commonly used [ 383 ].…”

2022 KLCA-NCC Korea practice guidelines for the management of hepatocellular carcinoma

“…A recent meta-analysis including 22,392 patients concluded that the size of the largest tumor and the total diameter of nodules were the best predictors of outcome, while number of tumors was not associated with the outcome of LT. 384 Sugimachi et al 385 scintigraphy, and 18 F-FDG PET-CT may be performed. 386 18 F-FDG PET-CT can help characterizing the biology of HCC, since PET-positive tumors more frequently display unfavorable histological features (e.g., high cellular dedifferentiation and microvascular invasion), 387 resulting in poorer recurrence-free survival (RFS) after LT. 388,389 There has been no specific study nor consensus on the optimal timing or modality for evaluation of patients on the waiting list to monitor whether they remain within the acceptability criteria for LT, although dynamic CT or MRI and AFP measurement at a 3-month interval is commonly used. 383…”

2022 KLCA-NCC Korea Practice Guidelines for the Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

“…Imaging of the brain, bone scintigraphy, and 18 F-FDG PET-CT may be performed [ 386 ]. 18 F-FDG PET-CT can help characterizing the biology of HCC, since PET-positive tumors more frequently display unfavorable histological features (e.g., high cellular dedifferentiation and microvascular invasion) [ 387 ], resulting in poorer recurrence-free survival (RFS) after LT [ 388 389 ]. There has been no specific study nor consensus on the optimal timing or modality for evaluation of patients on the waiting list to monitor whether they remain within the acceptability criteria for LT, although dynamic CT or MRI and AFP measurement at a 3-month interval is commonly used [ 383 ].…”