Making timely remedial measures after TACE based on the results of cone-beam CT liver perfusion

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and safety of using cone-beam CT (CBCT) to measure changes in parenchymal blood volume (PBV) of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and to guide microwave ablation (MWA) for residual tumors. Methods A retrospective study was performed on 42 patients with HCC who completed TACE and received CBCT-guided perfusion imaging. The residual active lesions after TACE were supplemented with MWA to complete the treatment process according to the residual PBV. The outcomes were analyzed, including PBV changes, interventional-related complications, local tumor progression (LTP) and overall survival (OS). Results Technical success was achieved in all lesions. Correlation analysis revealed that greater volume of residual PBV after MWA is negatively correlated with LTP. (p = .000); and the decrease of PBV was positively correlated with LTP (p = .000). All adverse events and complications were CTCAE Grade 1/2. After combination treatment, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year LTP-free survival were 97.6%, 69.0% and 15.1%, respectively, with a median LTP of 49.0 months (95% CI:43.129,54.871). Multivariate Cox regression revealed that the residual PBV > 13 ml/1000 was an independent factor predicting a shorter OS and LTP (Both p< .05). For LTP, multivariate Cox regression showed that a tumor in a single lesion were independently predicted to have a longer LTP in patients with HCC (p = .033). Conclusion CBCT is feasible and safe to use to measure changes in the PBV before and after TACE treatment, while it can also guide MWA for the treatment of residual tumors in one session

Automated summary

The study evaluated the feasibility and safety of using CBCT to measure changes in PBV in HCC patients after TACE and guide MWA for residual tumors. Results showed that larger residual PBV volume post-MWA was negatively correlated with LTP, while decreasing PBV was positively correlated with LTP. A residual PBV > 13 ml/1000 predicted shorter OS and LTP.