Early detection of local tumor progression (LTP) after irreversible electroporation (IRE) and microwave ablation (MWA) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains challenging. The goal of this study was to identify cases with insufficient ablation and prevent HCC recurrencies by measuring iodine uptake using dual-energy computed tomography (DECT). In 54 HCC-patients, the volumetric iodine concentration (VIC) of the central and peripheral ablation area was evaluated by DECT within 24 h after IRE or MWA. Follow-up was performed with CT and/or MRI at 6 weeks, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, respectively. In both groups, LTP was solely detected in the peripheral area (IRE: n = 4; MWA: n = 4) and LTP patients showed significantly higher VIC values in the peripheral zone than patients without LTP (IRE: * p = 0.0005; MWA: * p = 0.000). In IRE-LTP patients, no significant difference between the VIC values of non-ablated liver tissue and the peripheral zone was detected (p = 0.155). The peripheral zones of IRE patients without LTP (* p = 0.000) and MWA patients, irrespective of the presence of LTP (LTP: * p = 0.005; without LTP: * p = 0.000), showed significantly lower VIC values than non-ablated liver parenchyma. Higher BCLC tumor stages were indicative for LTP (* p = 0.008). The study suggests that elevated iodine uptake in the peripheral ablation zone could help identify LTP after IRE and MWA of HCC.
Keywords: dual-energy computed tomography; hepatocellular carcinoma; iodine uptake; irreversible electroporation; microwave ablation; residual tumor.