Cheng JT, Tan NE, Volk ML. Utility of positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan in detecting residual hepatocellular carcinoma post treatment: Series of case reports. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2020; 12(3): 358-364 [PMID: 32206185 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v12.i3.358]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jason T Cheng, MD, Assistant Professor, Transplantation Institute, Loma Linda University Medical Center, 197 E Caroline St Ste 1400, San Bernardino, CA 92408, United States. jtcheng@llu.edu
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Oncology
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Case Report
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Mar 15, 2020 (publication date) through Oct 23, 2025
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World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology
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1948-5204
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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Cheng JT, Tan NE, Volk ML. Utility of positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan in detecting residual hepatocellular carcinoma post treatment: Series of case reports. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2020; 12(3): 358-364 [PMID: 32206185 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v12.i3.358]
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Mar 15, 2020; 12(3): 358-364 Published online Mar 15, 2020. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v12.i3.358
Utility of positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan in detecting residual hepatocellular carcinoma post treatment: Series of case reports
Jason T Cheng, Nelly E Tan, Michael L Volk
Jason T Cheng, Michael L Volk, Transplantation Institute, Loma Linda University Medical Center, San Bernardino, CA 92408, United States
Nelly E Tan, Department of Radiology, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA 92354, United States
Author contributions: All authors contributed to this work; Cheng JT and Volk ML designed the study; Cheng JT reviewed clinical information; Tan NE reviewed images; Cheng JT wrote and edited the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jason T Cheng, MD, Assistant Professor, Transplantation Institute, Loma Linda University Medical Center, 197 E Caroline St Ste 1400, San Bernardino, CA 92408, United States. jtcheng@llu.edu
Received: November 2, 2019 Peer-review started: November 2, 2019 First decision: November 22, 2019 Revised: December 31, 2019 Accepted: January 14, 2020 Article in press: January 14, 2020 Published online: March 15, 2020 Processing time: 131 Days and 4.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Multi-phase computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been the standard of care for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis for years.
CASE SUMMARY
We report a case series of four patients in whom positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scan complemented the conventional CT/MRI scans in evaluating treatment response. In these four cases the conventional multi-phase CT and MRI failed to identify residual HCC disease post-treatment, while PET-CT complemented and aided in treatment response evaluation. In each case, the addition of PET-CT identified and located residual HCC disease, allowed retreatment, and altered medical management.
CONCLUSION
This case series suggests that PET-CT should perhaps play a role in the HCC management algorithm, in addition to the conventional contrast-enhanced multi-phase scans.
Core tip: This is a case series of four hepatocellular carcinoma patients who had undergone locoregional therapies. The conventional multi-phase computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans failed to identify residual hepatocellular carcinoma disease post-treatment, while positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan complemented in treatment response evaluation by identifying and locating residual disease, allowing retreatment.
