Background: Accurate preoperative estimation of remnant liver function is critically important for hepatic surgery, and the expression of asialoglycoprotein receptors (ASGPR) is associated with hepatic function.
Methods: Thirty-two patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent surgical resection were studied. To estimate the expression of ASGPR in the remnant liver, simulated surgery was performed on fusion images that combined data from (99m)technetium-galactosyl human serum albumin ((99m)Tc-GSA)/single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and computed tomography (CT) scanning. The liver uptake ratio (LUR) of (99m)Tc-GSA and the functional liver volume (FLV) in the remnant liver were predicted and were compared with postoperative liver function parameters.
Results: The LUR of (99m)Tc-GSA was strongly correlated with the extent of hepatic ASGPR expression (r = 0.944, p = 5.01 x 10(-16)), being confirmed to be a reliable parameter for the evaluation of liver function. The estimated remnant LUR, but not the estimated remnant FLV, was significantly correlated with postoperative liver function parameters, such as serum total bilirubin (r = -0.430, p < 0.05), prothrombin activity (r = 0.515, p < 0.01), and serum cholinesterase activity (r = 0.546, p < 0.01) at 1 week.
Conclusion: Preoperative estimation of the extent of ASGPR expression in the remnant liver on CT/GSA-SPECT fusion images correlated well with postoperative liver function parameters, suggesting its usefulness for surgical decisions.