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Retrospective Cohort Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025.
World J Hepatol. Dec 27, 2025; 17(12): 111418
Published online Dec 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i12.111418
Table 1 Functional Liver Imaging Score scoring criteria
Parameter
Score 0
Score 1
Score 2
Hepatic enhancement (liver signal intensity vs right kidney)HypointenseIsointenseHyperintense
Biliary excretion (presence of contrast in biliary structures)No excretionIntrahepatic bile ductsCommon bile duct or duodenum
Portal vein signal (portal vein intensity vs liver parenchyma)HyperintenseIsointenseHypointense
Table 2 Biochemical and imaging characteristics of the study cohort
Parameter/score
mean ± SD
Platelets (× 103/µL)126.12 ± 73.48
AST (U/L)62.65 ± 54.04
ALT (U/L)43.61 ± 38.15
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)2.40 ± 2.76
Sodium (mEq/L)135.98 ± 4.03
Potassium (mEq/L)4.18 ± 0.54
Creatinine (mg/dL)0.86 ± 0.23
Albumin (g/dL)3.64 ± 0.79
INR1.37 ± 0.40
MELD 3.0 score13.75 ± 6.14
ALBI score-2.14 ± 0.83
FIB-4 index6.58 ± 6.21
Native SI segment III147.25 ± 26.15
Native SI segment VI167.20 ± 24
Native SI segment VIII153.90 ± 19.57
Native SI caudate lobe161.91 ± 22.95
Native SI global157.56 ± 21.28
Hepatobiliary SI segment III230.75 ± 55.40
Hepatobiliary SI segment VI262.60 ± 59.38
Hepatobiliary SI segment VIII245.85 ± 50.18
Hepatobiliary SI caudate lobe255.50 ± 57.92
Hepatobiliary SI global248.68 ± 53.90
HE segment III83.50 ± 37.16
HE segment VI95.40 ± 43.01
HE segment VIII91.95 ± 36.72
HE caudate lobe93.59 ± 40.90
HE global91.11 ± 38.15
Table 3 Correlations among hepatobiliary signal intensity, Functional Liver Imaging Score, clinical scores, liver stiffness, and hepatic venous-portal gradient
Region
FLIS
Child-Pugh
MELD 3.0
ALBI
FIB-4
Liver stiffness
HVPG
SI segment III0.661a-0.496a-0.521a-0.519a-0.222a-0.389a-0.167 (P = 0.208)
SI segment VI0.763a-0.589a-0.623a-0.603a-0.268a-0.390a-0.267 (P = 0.094)
SI segment VIII0.683a-0.463a-0.545a-0.493a-0.259a-0.422a-0.302 (P = 0.067)
SI caudate lobe0.727a-0.532a-0.563a-0.562a-0.266a-0.461a-0.289 (P = 0.076)
Global SI0.736a-0.540a-0.584a-0.565a-0.263a-0.429a-0.261 (P = 0.099)
Table 4 Association between hepatic enhancement and Functional Liver Imaging Score in the whole cohort and subgroups (no prior hepatocellular carcinoma, viral etiology, alcoholic etiology)
Region
F (ANOVA)
P value
Partial η²
Linear trend F
Linear trend P
Deviation F
Deviation P
Levene’s P
Full cohort (n = 100)
Segment VI38.448< 0.0010.672190.171< 0.0010.5180.7230.062
Segment VIII18.960< 0.0010.50291.378< 0.0010.8550.4940.246
Caudate lobe24.369< 0.0010.565120.883< 0.0010.2400.9150.340
Segment III19.393< 0.0010.50895.767< 0.0010.2990.8780.157
Global HE28.060< 0.0010.599138.949< 0.0010.3370.8520.072
Non-HCC subgroup (n = 80)
Segment VI36.974< 0.0010.714179.371< 0.0011.3750.2510.086
Segment VIII16.262< 0.0010.52477.487< 0.0010.9560.4370.457
Caudate lobe23.305< 0.0010.612114.939< 0.0010.3960.8110.429
Segment III17.696< 0.0010.54585.235< 0.0010.8110.5220.174
Global HE26.237< 0.0010.639128.016< 0.0010.7920.5340.125
Viral subgroup (n = 53)
Segment VI15.968< 0.0010.57161.566< 0.0010.7690.5170.017
Segment VIII6.230< 0.0010.34222.909< 0.0010.6710.5740.547
Caudate lobe11.256< 0.0010.48443.029< 0.0010.6650.5780.061
Segment III8.940< 0.0010.42634.033< 0.0010.5760.6340.152
Global HE11.244< 0.0010.48443.239< 0.0010.5790.6320.035
Alcoholic subgroup (n = 41)
Segment VI22.325< 0.0010.761103.808< 0.0011.9550.1230.751
Segment VIII9.116< 0.0010.56641.884< 0.0010.9250.4610.636
Caudate lobe7.551< 0.0010.51936.680< 0.0010.2690.8960.849
Segment III8.439< 0.0010.56638.439< 0.0010.9380.4530.174
Global HE12.871< 0.0010.64860.830< 0.0010.8810.4850.803
Table 5 Correlations among hepatic enhancement, Functional Liver Imaging Score, and clinical scores across the entire cohort and subgroups
Cohort
Region
FLIS
Child-Pugh
MELD 3.0
ALBI
FIB-4
Full cohort (n = 100)HE segment VI0.819a-0.611a-0.683a-0.624a-0.306a
HE segment VIII0.718a-0.469a-0.584a-0.490a-0.300a
HE caudate lobe0.765a-0.592a-0.634a-0.590a-0.312a
HE segment III0.741a-0.580a-0.625a-0.579a-0.253a
Global HE0.797a-0.589a-0.658a-0.599a-0.308a
Non-HCC (n = 80)HE segment VI0.858a-0.616a-0.649a-0.624a-0.301a
HE segment VIII0.716a-0.475a-0.551a-0.463a-0.278a
HE caudate lobe0.790a-0.601a-0.599a-0.576a-0.302a
HE segment III0.761a-0.582a-0.583a-0.568a-0.265a
Global HE0.820a-0.596a-0.622a-0.591a-0.301a
Viral (n = 53)HE segment VI0.656a-0.423a-0.574a-0.444a-0.287a
HE segment VIII0.589a-0.320a-0.542a-0.410a-0.287a
HE caudate lobe0.633a-0.456a-0.533a0.485a-0.342a
HE segment III0.610a-0.471a-0.631a-0.530a-0.312a
Global HE0.649a-0.433a-0.594a-0.485a-0.318a
Alcoholic (n = 41)HE segment VI0.834a-0.603a-0.611a-0.594a-0.148 (q = 0.418)
HE segment VIII0.714a-0.412a-0.431a-0.396a-0.198 (q = 0.269)
HE caudate lobe0.739a-0.537a-0.513a-0.476a-0.074 (q = 0.682)
HE segment III0.707a-0.530a-0.414a-0.458a-0.013 (q = 0.936)
Global HE0.796a-0.546a-0.531a-0.511a-0.123 (q = 0.492)
Table 6 Correlations among hepatic enhancement, liver stiffness, and hepatic venous-portal gradient across the entire cohort and subgroups
Cohort
Region
Liver stiffness (ρ/q)
HVPG (ρ/q)
Full cohort (n = 100)HE segment VI-0.428/0.002a-0.345/0.049a
HE segment VIII-0.503/0.001a-0.389/0.042a
HE caudate lobe-0.477/0.001a-0.362/0.049a
HE segment III-0.418/0.002a-0.232/0.127
Global HE-0.470/0.001a-0.340/0.049a
Non-HCC (n = 80)HE segment VI-0.358/0.014a-0.200/0.261
HE segment VIII-0.470/0.003a-0.235/0.255
HE caudate lobe-0.447/0.003a-0.169/0.261
HE segment III-0.399/0.008a-0.049/0.416
Global HE-0.430/0.003a-0.167/0.261
Viral (n = 53)HE segment VI-0.211/0.1270.160/0.492
HE segment VIII-0.328/0.059-0.081/0.492
HE caudate lobe-0.217/0.120-0.042/0.492
HE segment III-0.323/0.0590.071/0.492
Global HE-0.286/0.1200.093/0.492
Alcoholic (n = 41)HE segment VI-0.513/0.022a-0.552/0.061
HE segment VIII-0.604/0.020a-0.533/0.061
HE caudate lobe-0.533/0.020a-0.508/0.061
HE segment III-0.455/0.038a-0.433/0.092
Global HE-0.552/0.020a-0.524/0.061
Table 7 Global hepatic enhancement variation by clinical outcomes across the whole cohort and subgroups
Cohort
Outcome
Group
Mean HE ± SD
t (df)
P value
q value
Cohen’s d
Full cohort (n = 100)HCC developmentNo HCC87.48 ± 37.86-1.662 (98)0.1000.1000.384
HCC102 ± 37.71
DecompensationNo decompensation100.87 ± 34.303.526 (98)0.001a0.003a0.717
Decompensation74.48 ± 39.07
MortalitySurvivor94.34 ± 36.652.231 (98)0.028a0.042a0.625
Dead69.52 ± 42.47
Non-HCC (n = 80)HCC developmentNo HCC 81.12 ± 37.64-1.448 (78)0.1520.1520.379
HCC 95 ± 35.45
DecompensationNo decompensation 93.66 ± 33.632.478 (78)0.015a0.026a0.552
Decompensation 73.50 ± 39.16
MortalitySurvivor95.26 ± 37.022.622 (78)0.011a0.033a0.941
Dead63 ± 31.29
Viral cirrhosis (n = 53)HCC developmentNo HCC 98.44 ± 37.70-1.713 (51)0.0930.1400.517
HCC 116.69 ± 32.74
DecompensationNo decompensation 105.57 ± 34.891.293 (51)0.2020.3030.368
Decompensation 91.56 ± 39.24
MortalitySurvivor 105.99 ± 34.541.181 (51)0.2430.2430.448
Dead83.44 ± 62.18
Alcoholic cirrhosis (n = 41)HCC developmentNo HCC77.57 ± 33.920.523 (39)0.6040.6040.218
HCC70.78 ± 28.05
DecompensationNo decompensation94.49 ± 27.145.523 (39)0.001a0.003a1.095
Decompensation61.57 ± 32.72
MortalitySurvivor79.88 ± 32.011.357 (39)0.1820.2730.505
Dead63.33 ± 33.40
Table 8 Cox regression analyses for prediction of decompensation and mortality (per 10-unit hepatic enhancement increase)
Model
Endpoint
Predictor
HR (95%CI)
P (raw)
q (FDR)
UnivariateDecompensationHE segment VI 0.77 (0.70-0.85)< 0.001< 0.001
HE segment VIII 0.81 (0.73-0.90)< 0.001< 0.001
HE segment III 0.79 (0.70-0.88)< 0.001< 0.001
HE caudate lobe0.79 (0.72-0.87)< 0.001< 0.001
HE global 0.77 (0.69-0.86)< 0.001< 0.001
MortalityHE segment VI 0.78 (0.68-0.90)< 0.0010.004
HE segment VIII 0.86 (0.74-1.01)0.0650.065
HE segment III 0.75 (0.62-0.90)0.0020.005
HE caudate lobe0.80 (0.69-0.93)0.0040.005
HE global 0.79 (0.67-0.93)0.0040.005
Adjusted (MELD3.0, etiology, prior HCC)1DecompensationHE segment VI 0.87 (0.77-0.99)0.0290.145
HE segment VIII 0.93 (0.83-1.05)0.2480.310
HE segment III 0.91 (0.80-1.04)0.1780.237
HE caudate lobe0.92 (0.81-1.04)0.1780.237
HE global 0.89 (0.79-1.02)0.1080.180
MortalityHE segment VI 0.87 (0.69-1.09)0.2270.695
HE segment VIII1.07 (0.87-1.30)0.4170.695
HE segment III0.88 (0.69-1.11)0.2840.710
HE caudate lobe0.97 (0.78-1.20)0.7330.733
HE global 0.94 (0.74-1.20)0.6270.783
Table 9 Diagnostic performance of hepatic enhancement, Functional Liver Imaging Score, and clinical scores for predicting decompensation: Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis results1
Marker
AUC (95%CI)
Youden cut-off
Se
Sp
PPV
NPV
Δ HE vs FLIS (q)
Δ HE vs MELD 3.0 (q)
Δ HE vs ALBI (q)
FLIS0.79 (0.69-0.88)4.50.760.760.570.88---
MELD 3.00.73 (0.63-0.8618.50.430.940.80.74---
ALBI0.77 (0.68-0.86-2.10.700.730.600.81---
HE segment VI0.74 (0.62-0.85)750.680.860.640.88-0.05 (0.123)0.01 (0.964)-0.04 (0.580)
HE segment VIII0.68 (0.55-0.79)67.50.430.860.640.72-0.08 (0.014)-0.05 (0.400)-0.09 (0.400)
HE segment III0.68 (0.56-0.79)650.510.820.630.74-0.08 (0.003)-0.05 (0.400)-0.09 (0.400)
HE caudate lobe0.70 (0.59-0.81)82.50.600.760.600.76-0.11 (0.017)-0.03 (0.616)-0.07 (0.400)
HE global0.71 (0.60-0.82)86.30.700.710.590.81-0.11 (0.023)-0.02 (0.671)-0.06 (0.400)
Table 10 Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis results for the diagnostic performance of hepatic enhancement, Functional Liver Imaging Score, and clinical scores in predicting mortality1
Marker
AUC (95%CI)
Youden cut-off
Se
Sp
PPV
NPV
Δ HE vs FLIS (q)
Δ HE vs MELD 3.0 (q)
Δ HE vs ALBI (q)
FLIS0.81 (0.69-0.93)4.50.920.640.280.98---
MELD 3.00.79 (0.64-0.94)15.50.770.750.310.96---
ALBI0.82 (0.69-0.95)-1.40.690.850.410.95---
HE segment VI0.74 (0.57-0.91)750.850.740.320.97-0.07 (0.293)-0.05 (0.369)-0.08 (0.220)
HE segment VIII0.64 (0.46-0.82)750.620.740.260.93-0.18 (0.025)-0.15 (0.082)-0.18 (0.081)
HE segment III0.71 (0.56-0.87)87.50.770.690.280.95-0.09 (0.188)-0.08 (0.267)-0.11 (0.220)
HE caudate lobe0.71 (0.55-0.87)82.50.770.690.270.95-0.09 (0.140)-0.08 (0.220)-0.11 (0.170)
HE global0.71 (0.54-0.88)86.30.850.620.250.96-0.17 (0.140)-0.08 (0.220)-0.11 (0.170)
Table 11 Incremental performance summary of hepatic enhancement models vs the reference model, n (%)
Endpoint
Horizon (months)
Added variable to reference model
Categorical NRI (95%CI)
NRI
event1
NRI
Non-event1
Continuous NRI % (95%CI)
ΔAUC2
ΔBrier2
Decompensation12 months+ HE segment VI0.0 (-13.6; 12.9)---13.6 (-58.7; 31.0)-0.002+0.001
+ HE global0.0 (-14.6; 14.3)--+0.34 (-44.3; 45.5)-0.003+0.0008
24 months+ HE segment VI+2.9 (0.0; 7.6)0.0+2.9+9.5 (-33.1; 51.2)+0.002-0.0006
+ HE global+7.1 (1.5; 13.9)0.0+7.1+21.9 (-20.6; 62.4)+0.0029-0.00038
Mortality12 months+ HE segment VI+30.7 (1.0; 68.8)+28.6+2.2+13.7 (-68.0; 94.3)+0.012+0.0001
+ HE global+31.8 (2.0; 69.9)+28.6+3.2+24.4 (-58.8; 107.4)+0.011-0.0011
24 months+ HE segment VI+5.6 (-23.9; 35.6)0.0+5.6+12.2 (-53.4; 76.6)+0.012+0.0005
+ HE global+6.7 (-24.4; 36.7)0.0+6.7+41.1 (-26.3; 107.9)+0.006-0.0004
Table 12 Quantitative decision-curve analysis at prespecified thresholds (hepatic enhancement models vs reference model)1
Endpoint
Horizon (months)
Added variable to reference model
Threshold
ΔNB (95%CI)
Net reduction per 100
Decompensation12 months+ HE global0.10-0.0020 (-0.0056; 0.001)-2
24 months+ HE global0.10+0.0011 (0.000; 0.0033)1
24 months+ HE global0.20+0.0100 (0.0025; 0.020)4
Mortality12 months+ HE segment VI0.10+0.0110 (0.000; 0.032)10
12 months+ HE global0.10+0.0120 (0.000; 0.033)11
12 months+ HE global0.20+0.0225 (0.000; 0.055)9
24 months+ HE global0.10+0.0067 (0.0011; 0.0133)6
Table 13 Intrareader agreement on region of interest measurements (n = 100)
Parameter
ICC
CV%
Bias
LoA (95%)
Native SI
Segment VI0.9273.2-1.05-18.57 to 16.47
Segment VIII0.8743.8-3.50-23.27 to 16.27
Caudate lobe0.9612.60.00-12.61 to 12.61
Segment III0.9284.6-0.35-20.06 to 19.36
Global SI0.9552.3-1.23-13.77 to 11.32
Hepatobiliary SI
Segment VI0.9902.4-0.20-16.62 to 16.22
Segment VIII0.9902.2-2.90-16.84 to 11.04
Caudate lobe0.9931.80.20-13.15 to 13.55
Segment III0.9883.2-1.50-18.19 to 15.19
Global SI0.9951.8-1.10-11.33 to 9.13
HE
Segment VI0.95514.90.85-25.02 to 26.72
Segment VIII0.94112.10.60-24.98 to 26.18
Caudate lobe0.9749.40.20-18.22 to 18.62
Segment III0.94314.8-1.15-26.02 to 23.72
Global HE0.9749.30.12-17.25 to 17.50