BACKGROUND
Regional lymph node metastasis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not uncommon, and is often under- or misdiagnosed. Regional lymph node metastasis is associated with a negative prognosis in patients with HCC, and surgical resection of lymph node metastasis is considered feasible and efficacious in improving the survival and prognosis. It is critical to characterize lymph node preoperatively. There is currently no consensus regarding the optimal method for the assessment of regional lymph nodes in patients with HCC.
AIM
To evaluate the diagnostic value of single source dual energy computed tomography (CT) in regional lymph node assessment for HCC patients.
METHODS
Forty-three patients with pathologically confirmed HCC who underwent partial hepatectomy with lymphadenectomy were retrospectively enrolled. All patients underwent dual-energy CT preoperatively. Regional lymph nodes (
n
= 156) were divided into either a metastatic (group
P
,
n
= 52) or a non-metastasis group (group
N
,
n
= 104), and further, according to pathology, divided into an active hepatitis (group
P1
,
n
= 34; group
N1
,
n
= 73) and a non-active hepatitis group (group
P2
,
n
= 18; group
N2
,
n
= 31). The maximal short axis diameter (MSAD), iodine concentration (IC), normalized IC (NIC), and the slope of the spectral curve (
λ
HU
) of each group in the arterial phase (AP), portal phase (PP), and delayed phase (DP) were analyzed.
RESULTS
Analysis of the MSAD, IC, NIC, and
λ
HU
showed statistical differences between groups
P
and
N
(
P
< 0.05) during all three phases. To distinguish benign from metastatic lymph nodes, the diagnostic efficacy of IC, NIC, and
λ
HU
in the PP was the best among the three phases (AP, PP, and DP), with a sensitivity up to 81.9%, 83.9%, and 81.8%, and a specificity up to 82.4%, 84.1% and 84.1%, respectively. The diagnostic value of combined analyses of MSAD with IC, NIC, or
λ
HU
in the PP was superior to the dual energy CT parameters alone, with a sensitivity up to 84.5%, 86.9%, and 86.2%, and a specificity up to 83.0%, 93.6% and 89.8%, respectively. Between groups
P1
and
P2
and groups
N1
and
N2
, only IC, NIC, and
λ
HU
between groups
N1
...