Author information

¹Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, Via Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, MB, Italy. Electronic address: mainocesare@gmail.com.

²Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, Via Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, MB, Italy; Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano Bicocca, Via Cadore 33, 20090 Monza, MB, Italy.

³Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, Via Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, MB, Italy.

⁴Department of Gastroenterlogy, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, Via Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, MB, Italy.

⁵Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, Via Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, MB, Italy.

⁶Bicocca Bioinformatics Biostatistics and Bioimaging Centre-B4, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, Monza, MB 20900, Italy.

⁷Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, Via Pergolesi 33, 20900 Monza, MB, Italy; Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano Bicocca, Via Cadore 33, 20090 Monza, MB, Italy.

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the performance of FLIS in predicting adverse outcomes, namely post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) and death, in patients who underwent liver surgery for malignancies.

Methods: All consecutive patients who underwent liver resection and 1.5 T gadoxetic acid MR were enrolled. PHLF and overall survival (OS) were collected. Two radiologists with 18 and 8 years of experience in abdominal imaging, blinded to clinical data, evaluated all images. Radiologists evaluated liver parenchymal enhancement (EnQS), biliary contrast excretion (ExQS), and signal intensity of the portal vein relative to the liver parenchyma (PVsQs). Reliability analysis was computed with Cohen's Kappa. Cox regression analysis was calculated to determine which factors are associated with PHLF and OS. Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (AUROC) was computed.

Results: 150 patients were enrolled, 58 (38.7 %) in the HCC group and 92 (61.3 %) in the non-HCC group. The reliability analysis between the two readers was almost perfect (κ = 0.998). The multivariate Cox analysis showed that only post-surgical blood transfusions and major resection were associated with adverse events [HR=8.96 (7.98-9.88), p = 0.034, and HR=0.99 (0.781-1.121), p = 0.032, respectively] in the whole population. In the HCC group, the multivariable Cox analysis showed that blood transfusions, major resection and FLIS were associated with adverse outcomes [HR=13.133 (2.988-55.142), p = 0.009, HR=0.987 (0.244-1.987), p = 0.021, and HR=1.891 (1.772-3.471), p = 0.039]. The FLIS AUROC to predict adverse outcomes was 0.660 (95 %CIs = 0.484-0.836), with 87 % sensitivity and 33.3 % specificity (81.1-94.4 and 22.1-42.1).

Conclusions: FLIS can be considered a promising tool to preoperative depict patients at risk of PHLF and death.