Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the prevalence and patterns of origin of the cystic artery using selective angiography images obtained during chemoembolization.
Methods: Between March 2007 and January 2012, 326 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma supplied by the cystic artery were treated by chemoembolization through the cystic artery. Fifteen patients were excluded due to the difficulty in determining the origin of their cystic arteries. Thus, a total of 311 patients were included in this study. Digital subtraction angiography images were reviewed retrospectively by consensus.
Results: A total of 112 (36 %) patients had a total of 121 variant hepatic arteries. Double cystic arteries were present in 46 (14.8 %) patients, and total 357 cystic arteries were observed. The origin sites of the cystic artery were the following: the right hepatic artery (n = 248), the anterior sectional artery (n = 44), the segment IV artery (n = 21), the posterior sectional artery (n = 10), the left hepatic artery (n = 8), the proper hepatic artery (n = 8), the gastroduodenal artery (n = 4), and others (n = 14). In total, 103 (33 %) patients had at least one cystic artery arising from arteries other than the right hepatic artery. In patients with right hepatic artery variations, the cystic artery more frequently originated from arteries other than the right hepatic artery (p = 0.003).
Conclusions: The most and second most common origins of the cystic artery are the right hepatic artery and the anterior sectional artery. In addition, the origin site of the cystic arteries is influenced by variations of hepatic arteries.