Role of PET CT in comparison to triphasic CT in early follow-up of hepatocellular carcinoma after transarterial chemoemoblization

• Main Authors: Waleed M. Hetta, Hany Rafat Atyia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2020-02-01
• Series: The Egyptian Journal of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine
• Subjects: HCC; PET CT; TACE follow-up
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s43055-020-0150-4

Abstract Background The aim of the study is to compare the role of PET/CT and that of triphasic CT in hepatocellular carcinoma post chemoembolization evaluation, thus guiding clinicians for proper management strategy. Thirty patients who had transarterial chemoembolization done for HCC were subjected to both radiological modalities, 18F-FDG PET/CT and triphasic CT, with the results compared. Results In our study, triphasic CT revealed 20 true positive results, 3 true negative results, 7 false negative results, and no false positive cases thus exhibiting calculated sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 74%, 100.0%, and 76.7% respectively. On the other hand, PET/CT showed 26 true positive results, 2 true negative results, 1 false negative result, and 1 false positive result to exhibit calculated sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 96.3%, 66.7%, and 93.3%, respectively. Conclusion 18F-FDG PET/CT showed high diagnostic accuracy over triphasic CT in interventional bed evaluation following TACE especially for patients with non-conclusive triphasic CT results and persistent elevated levels of AFP.