<p>Prognostic value of preoperative computed tomography in HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma patients after curative resection</p>

Preoperative treatments are considered for patients with worse outcome to improve overall survival and reduce tumor relapse. This study developed a prognostic risk estimation for patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related solitary hepatocellular carcinoma after curative resection, including preoperative computed tomography (CT) signatures. Preoperative multiphasic CTs for 166 patients with operable HCC were performed in our hospital from 15 November 2013 through 15 May 2015. Follow-up information, until 5 June 2017, included: CT, pathological and clinical characteristics, and recurrence and metastases of HCC confirmed by pathological or radiological diagnosis. The parameters were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. In multivariate analyses, overall survival was not significantly associated with any of the analyzed prognostic risk factors, but did show that the following were significant prognostic risk factors for disease-free survival: larger tumor size, positive radiogenomic venous invasion, non-smooth tumor margin, and histological microvascular invasion. These were all incorporated into the nomogram. The calibration curves for predicting the probability of disease-free survival between the nomogram and actual observation showed good conformity. In patients with HBV-related HCC, CT signatures were a noninvasive significant indicator of disease-free survival. Thus, consideration of CT signatures may optimize preoperative treatment strategies for the individual patient.