The imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma is characterized by the presence of a single or multiple masses in the liver that are unicircular, round-like, with clear borders and the presence of hypointense areas in the focal type, or diffuse type with diffuse distribution of nodules in the liver and blurred tumor borders.
Hepatocellular carcinoma can be clinically divided into hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocellular carcinoma. The common imaging presentation of hepatocellular liver cancer and cholangiocellular liver cancer is the presence of soft tissue masses with irregular morphology within the liver, with liquefied, necrotic hypodense areas that may exist in between. The imaging difference between the two is the different modes of enhancement. On enhancement scan of hepatocellular liver cancer, the mass imaging changes are presented in a fast-in-fast-out form; cholangiocellular liver cancer is moderately enhanced in the delayed phase, and its typical imaging features are petal-like or wreath-like appearance of the substantial components and petal-like enhancement around the mass.
Hepatocellular carcinoma is a highly prevalent malignancy with a relatively low cure rate. At present, early stage liver cancer can be surgically removed and most patients have a good prognosis. For patients with mid- and late-stage liver cancer, surgical treatment is often not very useful anymore, and conservative treatment can be adopted at this time. At present, the commonly used conservative treatment methods include interventional therapy, immunotherapy, targeted drug therapy and so on. Conservative treatment is mainly aimed at prolonging the patient’s life.