Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) combined with enhanced electronic computed tomography (CT) in evaluating the residual or recurrent lesions of primary hepatocellular carcinoma after transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods Eighty-nine patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma admitted to Huai’an First People’s Hospital from April 2020 to January 2023 were included in the study. One to two months after TACE treatment, digital subtraction angiography was taken as the gold standard, and DCE-MRI and CT enhanced scanning were performed in all patients at the same time. Results By digital subtraction angiography, a total of 116 liver cancer lesions were detected in 89 patients. After TACE treatment, there were 74 lesions remained or recurred, and 42 lesions were completely inactivated. DCE-MRI and contrast-enhanced CT detected 76 and 77 residual or recurrent lesions, and 40 and 39 completely inactivated lesions, respectively. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis showed that the sensitivities of DCE-MRI and contrast-enhanced CT for single and combined diagnosis of residual or recurrent lesions were 90.48%, 85.71%, and 92.86%, with the specificities of 97.30%, 95.95%, and 97.30%, and the areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.939, 0.908, and 0.951, respectively. The Kappa values of residual or recurrent lesions after TACE treatment in primary hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosed by DCE-MRI and enhanced CT alone and in combination with digital subtraction angiography were 0.887, 0.829, and 0.906, respectively. Conclusion DCE-MRI combined with CT enhanced scan can be used to evaluate the residual or recurrent lesions of primary hepatocellular carcinoma after TACE treatment,with a good efficacy.

Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Primary, Transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization, Dynamic contrast enhancement of magnetic resonance, Enhanced CT