3D MR Elastography-Based Stiffness for Assessment of Expression Level of Piezo1 Protein in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Motivation: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has high heterogeneity and aggressiveness Piezo1, a mechanosensitive ion channel protein, exhibits upregulated expression in HCC, which has been associated with increased tumor invasiveness. Goal(s): To evaluate the potential of MRE-based tumor stiffness (TS) to noninvasively predict the expression level of Piezo1 protein in HCC. Approach: We assessed MR Elastography-based stiffness and Piezo1 protein expression in HCC, comparing MRE parameters between Piezo1 subgroups. Continuous data were analyzed using the Student's t-test, and categorical data with the chi-square test. Results: Patients with high Piezo1 protein expression exhibited significantly elevated TS and a higher recurrence rate. Impact: MRE-based tumor stiffness may be promising for noninvasively predicting Piezo1 protein expression in HCC patients. It provides valuable quantitative biomarker for assessing tumor aggressiveness in HCC.