Evaluating the effect of high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy on liver tumors using multislice CT perfusion

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of the multislice computed tomography (MSCT) perfusion parameters and histopathology of the liver in rabbits with VX2 tumors before and after high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy. VX2 carcinoma cells were implanted into the livers of eight New Zealand white rabbits 3 weeks prior to the treatment. MSCT perfusion was performed one week before and one and six weeks after the treatment. These CT perfusion (CTP) data, including hepatic blood flow (HBF), hepatic blood volume (HBV), mean transit time (MTT) and permeability-surface area product (PS), were analyzed semi-quantitatively and qualitatively. Furthermore, the histopathological features of the liver tissues were also assessed semi-quantitatively before and after the treatment. Six weeks after HIFU therapy, MTT increased noticeably from 5.45±0.27 to 10.38±2.22 sec (P<0.05) and PS decreased significantly from 79.03±3.41 to 68.13±0.21 ml/100 g/min (P<0.05), while no significant differences in HBF and HBV were found. Furthermore, more CD3+ T cells were observed at the rim and center of the liver tumors six weeks after treatment. Therefore, HIFU therapy may be a simple and effective method for the treatment of liver tumors. CTP, as an effective method to obtain functional information about HBF, is able to quantify tumor vascularity and angiogenesis in liver tumors.

Perfusion CT imaging of the liver: review of clinical applications

“…In perfusion CT, a quantitative tissue perfusion map is obtained from dynamic CT data and displayed using a color scale permitting the quantification of tissue perfusion in absolute units at high spatial resolution (2). Perfusion CT efficiently locates abnormal tissue perfusion which is difficult to detect accurately with conventional CT (3). Functional assessment of the perfusion of normal and pathologic tissues is performed by means of quantitative or semiquantitative parameters, such as blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT), portal liver perfusion (PLP), arterial liver perfusion (ALP) and hepatic perfusion index (HPI).…”

The Possibilities of Dynamic Perfusion Computed Tomography in Assessing of Urogenital Allografts State

“…Карты отображаются с использованием цветовой шкалы, что позволяет проводить качественную оценку перфузии тканей и получать числовые значения показателей кровотока в абсолютных единицах при высоком пространственном разрешении изображения [7]. Перфузионная КТ эффективно обнаруживает аномально кровоснабжаемые участки ткани, которые трудно определить с помощью обычной трехфазной МСКТ [8,10].…”