Profiling hepatocellular carcinoma aggressiveness with contrast-enhanced ultrasound and gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI: An intra-individual comparative study based on the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System

Purpose: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI (EOB-MRI) may synergize in profiling hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) aggressiveness considering distinct imaging traits. This study aimed to intra-individually compare CEUS and EOB-MRI with Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LIRADS) in assessing HCC aggressiveness.Method: From January 2015 to November 2020, consecutive at-risk patients with surgically-confirmed HCC who underwent both preoperative CEUS and EOB-MRI examinations were retrospectively enrolled. Image analyses were conducted independently by two masked radiologists for CEUS and EOB-MRI, respectively. The diagnostic performance of each modality for macrovascular invasion against pathology was evaluated and compared with the McNemar's test, while Edmondson-Steiner grade and the presence of microvascular invasion (MVI) were compared between patients with and without LR-M features on each modality.Results: A total of 140 patients (mean age, 51.9 years +/- 11.0; 116 men) were included. Inter-modality agreement was poor (Kappa = -0.087 ~ 0.139) for major LI-RADS features and moderate (Kappa = 0.449) for overall LI-RADS categorization, and LR-TIV and LR-M were the top sources of inter-modality variations. Although CEUS demonstrated significantly higher specificity for diagnosing macrovascular invasion (96% vs. 89%, P =.02), LRM features on EOB-MRI were more effective in identifying higher Edmondson-Steiner grades (P =.01) and MVI (P =.02).Conclusions: Marked discrepancies were found between CEUS and EOB-MRI in evaluating LI-RADS features and categories. Whereas CEUS showed superior diagnostic specificity for macrovascular invasion, LR-M features on EOB-MRI provided more information regarding tumor grade and MVI status in HCC patients.

Automated summary

This study aimed to compare CEUS and EOB-MRI in assessing the aggressiveness of HCC. The results showed that CEUS had higher specificity for diagnosing macrovascular invasion, while LR-M features on EOB-MRI were more effective in identifying higher tumor grade and MVI status.