The Value of Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging in Predicting Post-surgery Early Recurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective To determine the value of diffusion kurtosis imaging for predicting one-year early recurrence (ER) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative resection. Methods 55 HCC patients were enrolled into this prospective study and received preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) examination including diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI). The patients were followed up for at least one year after curative resection. The morphological features of HCC were assessed using the conventional contrast-enhanced MR images. Mean diffusivity (MD) and mean kurtosis (MK) were calculated for the intratumoral and peritumoral regions. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relative value of these parameters as a potential predictor of ER. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to determine the diagnostic performance of these quantitative parameters. Results Increased alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), BCLC stage, tumor number (≥2), high grade HCC, peritumoral MK, and decreased peritumoral MD were associated with higher one-year ER of HCC （POR)=5.37，95% confidence interval (CI)：1.01-28.50，P=0.048〕 and increased peritumoral MK (OR=5.38，95%CI：1.53-18.92，P=0.009) were independent risk factors for the ER of HCC. The area under curve was 0.79 (P<0.001) for peritumoral MK, with an optimal sensitivity of 85.2% and specificity of 64.3% at the cut-off of 0.96. Conclusion Peritumoral MK has moderate diagnostic performance in predicting ER of HCC. Higher peritumoral MK value in combination with high-grade HCC are potential biomarkers for predicting one-year ER of HCC.