Value of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Evaluating the Outcomes of Transarterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma at E Hospital

Abstract

Abstract: A retrospective study of 32 patients with primary liver cancer treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) who underwent 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and 1 month after intervention at E Hospital from May 2026 to October 2026 showed the following results: the mean age was 69.66 ± 8.31 years; 93.8% were male. A history of viral hepatitis was reported in 78.1% of patients, and cirrhosis in 53.1%. One month post-TACE, the median AFP level decreased from 9.70 ng/mL to 6.56 ng/mL; median bilirubin decreased from 11.85 µmol/L to 10.70 µmol/L. The median diameter of enhancing tumor tissue decreased from 35 mm to 21 mm. Dynamic MRI detected tumor enhancement in 56.2% of cases, while subtracted MRI detected true arterial enhancement in 78.1% of cases. According to mRECIST criteria, complete response (CR) was achieved in 21.9%, partial response (PR) in 46.9%, stable disease (SD) in 25.0%, and progressive disease (PD) in 6.3% (objective response rate of 68.8%). Compared with DSA, subtracted MRI achieved a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 77.8%, accuracy of 93.8%, and a Kappa agreement coefficient of 0.834.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, TACE, dynamic subtraction MRI, mRECIST.