Microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma: is it predictable with a new, preoperative application of diffusion-weighted imaging?

Purpose: The study aimed to explore the use of MRI in predicting the microvascular invasion (MVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and methods: The preoperative MRI and tissues of resected HCC patients were collected. The imaging characteristics that have previously been suggested and the mismatch between diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and T2-weighted imaging of regions, which the authors called DWI/r2 mismatch, were analyzed and compared with histopathological references. Results: A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that DWI/I2 mismatch was an independent predictor of MVI. Conclusion: The DWI/f2 mismatch can be a preoperative predictor of MVI for HCC. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.