Chemoembolization Follow-Up of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with MRI: Utility of Evaluating Enhancement Features on a 1 Month Follow-Up in Predicting Residual Disease After Therapy

Bobby Kalb¹, Diego R. Martin², Puneet Sharma, Abbas Chamsuddin

Determining therapeutic response after chemoembolization of HCC is important for guiding future therapy. Size measurements may be inaccurate in the early posttreatment setting. Evaluating vascular enhancement pattern of treated tumors may allow earlier determination of response. We evaluated 23 HCCs that have been treated with chemoembolization, and evaluated response on 1 and 6 month follow-up by qualitatively assessing the amount of residual enhancing tumor. Findings were compared with size changes at 6 months to correlate for residual disease. Evaluation of enhancement features of treated HCC on 1 month follow-up demonstrated good accuracy for assessment of residual disease after chemoembolization.