Application of intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

The morbidity and mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) rank 6 th and 4 th , respectively, among malignant tumors worldwide. Traditional diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) uses the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) obtained by applying the monoexponential model to reflect water molecule diffusion in active tissue; however, the value of ADC is affected by microcirculation perfusion. Using a biexponential model, intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM)-DWI quantitatively measures information related to pure water molecule diffusion and microcirculation perfusion, thus compensating for the shortcomings of DWI. The number of studies examining the application of IVIM-DWI in patients with HCC has gradually increased over the last few years, and many results show that IVIM-DWI has vital value for HCC differentiation, pathological grading, and predicting and evaluating the treatment response. The present study principally reviews the principle of IVIM-DWI and its research progress in HCC differentiation, pathological grading, predicting and evaluating the treatment response, predicting postoperative recurrence and predicting gene expression prediction.

Prognosis Prediction of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging Features

“…There has been immense interest in the literature regarding the use of adjunct techniques in MRI for preoperative prediction, such as magnetic resonance elastography [ 34 ] and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI for MVI [ 35 ] and intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging for HCC tumor grade [ 36 ]. Integration of these features has the potential to improve prognostic stratification in patients with HCC.…”

Imaging in translational cancer research

“…Pseudodiffusion and diffusion can be separated, thereby enabling determination of a flowing blood volume fraction (fIVIM: fractional IVIM) to obtain estimates of blood perfusion without the use of external contrast agents (see Section 2.2.4) 74 . Owing to the abnormal microvasculature in tumors, IVIM is increasingly being applied in oncological settings 75 mostly in rectal, pelvic, and hepatic cancers, and fIVIM has been found to strongly correlate with microvessel density 75 , 76 . Its role in common cancer types, such as breast and prostate cancer, is currently being evaluated 77 , 78 .…”