Abstract
Morphologic methods such as the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST)
are considered as the gold standard for response assessment in the management of cancer.
However, with the increasing clinical use of antineoplastic cytostatic agents and
locoregional interventional therapies in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), conventional
morphologic methods are confronting limitations in response assessment. Thus, there
is an increasing interest in new imaging methods for response assessment, which can
evaluate tumor biology such as vascular physiology, fibrosis, necrosis, and metabolism.
In this review, we discuss various novel imaging methods for response assessment and
compare them with the conventional ones in HCC.
Keywords
Computed tomography perfusion - diffusion weighted imaging - amic contrast-enhanced
magnetic resonance imaging - hepatocellular carcinoma - positron emission tomography