Jingwen YANG, Xiaomiao RUAN, Jiazhi CAO, Wenwu LING
Objective To investigate the relationship between contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) Liver imaging reporting and data system (LI-RADS) classification and the degree of pathological differentiation and microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the context of liver cirrhosis. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 368 HCC patients who underwent liver CEUS at the Department of Ultrasound Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University from June 2021 to December 2022, including 298 males and 70 females, aged 25-85(55.72±10.60) years old. Clinical features, CEUS characteristics, and LI-RADS classification were analyzed and compared in relation to the degree of pathological differentiation of the lesions and MVI. Results According to the Edmondson-Steiner grading system for pathological differentiation, 112 cases were classified as poorly differentiated, 239 as moderately differentiated, and 17 as well-differentiated. Pathological examination revealed 142 MVI-positive cases and 226 MVI-negative cases. The size of HCC lesions was inversely correlated with the degree of differentiation (P<0.001), with MVI-positive lesions being significantly larger than MVI-negative lesions (P<0.001). The proportions of HCC lesions presenting with mild or late washout were 59.8%, 67.4%, and 70.6% for poorly, moderately, well-differentiated lesions, respectively. Similarly, the proportions of lesions classified as LI-RADS 5 were 58.0%, 66.5%, 70.6%, respectively, with both proportions increasing with higher degrees of pathological differentiation. In contrast, the proportions of lesions presenting with early or marked washout were 38.4%, 28.0%, 5.9% for poorly, moderately, and well-differentiated HCC, respectively. The proportions classified as LI-RADS M were 40.2%, 28.9%, 5.9%, respectively, showing a decreasing trend with increasing differentiation. Furthermore, a higher degree of differentiation was associated with a greater proportion of patients without MVI (P<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences observed in CEUS features, including arterial phase enhancement, washout patterns, and LI-RADS classification between MVI-positive and MVI-negative patients (P>0.05). Conclusion In cirrhotic patients, a correlation was identified between the CEUS LI-RADS classification of HCC and the degree of tumor differentiation. Well-differentiated lesions were more frequently categorized as LI-RADS 5, whereas poorly differentiated lesions were predominantly classified as LI-RADS M.