Quantitative parameters obtained from gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced MRI can predict proliferative subtype of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Motivation: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related death. Goal(s): This study investigated the value of gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced quantitative parameters for predicting the proliferative subtype of HCC and patients’ prognosis. Approach: All HCC lesions were resected and pathologically confirmed. The lesion-to-liver contrast enhancement ratio (LLCER) was measured in the hepatobiliary phase. Results: LLCER was identified as an independent predictor of proliferative HCC. Patients with LLCER < -4.59% had a significantly higher incidence of proliferative HCC. In addition, patients with LLCER < -4.61% showed poorer overall survival than those with LLCER ≥ -4.61%. Impact: Quantitative information from gadobenate dimeglumine–enhanced MRI can provide crucial information on hepatocellular carcinoma subtypes. It might be valuable to design novel therapeutic strategies, such as targeted therapies or immunotherapy.