Author(s)

Juan Peng^1,2, Cui Yang¹, Jing Zheng¹, Ran Wang¹, Yi Zhou¹, Weicheng Wang¹, Lin Yang¹, Xiaoming Zhang¹, Nandong Miao¹, Yongjun Ren¹, Hao Xu¹, Xuli Min¹

¹Sichuan Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China.
²Department of Radiology, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital Jinniu Hospital, Chengdu, China.

Background: Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) can not only observe the diffusion of tissue water molecules but also reflect the blood perfusion information of tissue microcirculation. IVIM-DWI has been applied in many clinical areas. However, few studies have addressed the use of IVIM-DWI for the evaluation of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) response in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to explore the role of IVIM-DWI for the therapeutic response of TACE for HCC. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients underwent IVIM-DWI scan on a 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging instrument 1 - 3 days before and 30 to 40 days after TACE. The values of IVIM-DWI parameters, including standard apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), pure diffusion coefficient (Dslow), pseudo-diffusion coefficient (Dfast) and perfusion fraction (f) were measured. The values of IVIM-DWI parameters before and after TACE were compared using paired t tests. The values between responsive and non-responsive groups were compared using independent-samples t test. P < 0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results: After TACE, the ADC and Dslow values in the tumors increased significantly, and the values of Dfast decreased significantly, while the values of f value did not change obviously. The ADC values in responsive group were remarkably higher than those in non-responsive group, the Dfast values in responsive group were significantly lower than those in non-responsive group, but the values of Dslow and f between the two groups were not different significantly. Conclusions: IVIM-DWI parameters can be used as potential markers for the therapeutic response of TACE for HCC.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Diffusion-Weighted Imaging, Intravoxel Incoherent Motion, Transarterial Chemoembolization

Peng, J. , Yang, C. , Zheng, J. , Wang, R. , Zhou, Y. , Wang, W. , Yang, L. , Zhang, X. , Miao, N. , Ren, Y. , Xu, H. and Min, X. (2019) Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Diffusion Weighted Imaging for the Therapeutic Response of Transarterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Journal of Cancer Therapy, 10, 591-601. doi: 10.4236/jct.2019.107048.