Correlation of the Stiffness of Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Surrounding Liver Parenchyma by Point Shear Wave Elastography

The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and surrounding liver parenchyma stiffness using point shear wave elastography (pSWE). HCC was diagnosed using the criteria of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Liver fibrosis was classified into three groups (nonsignificant fibrosis, significant fibrosis, and cirrhosis). pSWE was performed on the HCC and the adjacent hepatic parenchyma and was expressed as kilopascal (kPa). A total of 59 HCC patients with 64 tumors were included in the study. The mean stiffnesses of HCC and liver background were 9.25 +/- 3.76 and 10.84 +/- 4.81 kPa, respectively. There was no statistical significance in HCC stiffness in any stage of liver fibrosis. Low HCC/liver background stiffness ratio was noted in the cirrhotic group and statistically significant in two comparison groups (cirrhosis vs significant fibrosis and cirrhosis vs nonsignificant fibrosis), with P < .001. In this cohort, HCC stiffness alone demonstrated no statistically significant difference in various stages of liver fibrosis.