A nationwide investigation on imaging follow-up after Locoregional therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma in China: Current practices and challenges.

PURPOSE

To investigate the perspectives of interventional radiologists in China on imaging follow-up protocols and adherence to treatment response criteria for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following locoregional therapies (LRT), with a particular focus on identifying gaps and proposing strategies to bridge the discrepancy between clinical guidelines and real-world practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The web-based survey was conducted among members of Chinese Society of Radiology and Zhongda Radiology Alliance between 1st October 2024 to 30th November 2024, via WPS Office survey tool. The frequencies and percentages of responses were summarized as n (%), and a chi-squared test was employed to compare the responses among diagnostic radiologists, interventional radiologists, and interventional physicians.

RESULTS

A total of 604 respondents from 325 hospitals in 31 provinces were analyzed. Of the respondents, 72.7 % (439/604) believed that the same imaging modality should be used for follow-up after conventional transarterial chemoembolization (cTACE) and other LRT for HCC. Among these respondents, contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) (57.2 %, 251/439) was the most preferred imaging modality for initial follow-up, and hepatobiliary contrast-enhanced MRI (63.1 %, 277/439) for subsequent follow-up examinations. For respondents (27.3 %, 165/604) who believed that follow-up strategies should be tailored to the type of LRT, CE-CT was most commonly recommended for post-cTACE HCC, both for initial (64.2 %, 106/165) and subsequent (60.6 %, 100/165) follow-up. For HCC treated with other LRT, the majority of respondents preferred extracellular contrast-enhanced MRI for initial follow-up (55.8 %, 92/165) and hepatobiliary contrast-enhanced MRI for subsequent follow-up (61.2 %, 101/165). The most recommended time frame for initial follow-up was "within 1-2 months" among all respondents. However, significant differences in the recommended time frame were observed among diagnostic radiologists, interventional radiologists, and interventional physicians (P < 0.001). Notably, more than 95 % of the respondents who selected 'unclear' were diagnostic radiologists. The most recommended monitoring frequency was every 3-4 months (46.0 %, 278/604) for viable lesions and every 5-6 months (32.9 %, 199/604) for nonviable lesions. Regarding adherence to treatment response criteria, mRECIST (32.0 %, 193/604) and LR-TRA (v2017/v2024) (24.2 %, 146/604) were commonly adopted in clinical practice. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of respondents (25.2 %, 152/604) indicated that none of these criteria were applied in their clinical practice.

CONCLUSION

CE-CT performed within 1-2 months was the most preferred modality and time frame for initial follow-up. Significant variability remains in follow-up frequency and treatment response criteria for post-LRT HCC, highlighting the need for further standardization of imaging follow-up protocols and structured treatment response assessment to optimize post-LRT management in clinical practice.