Contrast-enhanced ultrasound in evaluating the curative effect of interventional therapy in patients with liver cancer.

Background: Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) is utilized to assess the therapeutic efficacy of interventional therapy in liver cancer patients, offering insights into tumor blood flow changes, angiogenesis, and tumor markers.

Aim: To evaluate the use of CEUS in examining the effectiveness of interventional therapy for liver cancer, we aim to investigate its diagnostic utility for tumor perfusion patterns, microvessel density, perfusion recovery, blood flow enhancement response, and alterations in tumor markers among patients receiving interventional therapy for liver cancer.

Methods: The study involved 124 patients who underwent interventional therapy for liver cancer at Guangzhou First People's Hospital from January 2022 to February 2024. All patients were examined using CEUS before treatment and at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months, and the concentrations of tumor markers were collected and statistically analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 25.0. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of CEUS and analyze its sensitivity, specificity, and correlation with clinical indicators.

Results: Before treatment, tumor blood flow was primarily enhanced. After treatment, enhanced perfusion declined, while uniform and non-uniform perfusion increased, indicating reduced tumor activity. Enhanced perfusion decreased from 68.25% before treatment to 53.75% at 6 months post-treatment (F = 6.123, P = 0.016), indicating reduced tumor activity. The microvessel density of the tumors decreased significantly after treatment (P < 0.05), and the proportion of low microvessel density increased. After treatment, perfusion recovery in the tumor area improved, the proportion of complete and partial responses gradually increased, and the proportion of stable lesions decreased (P < 0.05). The levels of alpha-fetoprotein, carcinoembryonic antigen, and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 decreased by 68.7%, 30.4%, and 41.6%, respectively, at 6 months post-treatment (P < 0.05). CEUS showed a sensitivity of 85.72%, specificity of 92.31%, and area under the curve of 0.911 (95%CI: 0.883-0.939) for evaluating treatment response. ROC curve analysis showed that CEUS had high sensitivity and specificity and could effectively evaluate the efficacy of interventional therapy for liver cancer.

Conclusion: CEUS has high diagnostic value in evaluating therapeutic effects in patients with liver cancer following interventional therapy. It can reflect changes in tumor blood flow, angiogenesis, and tumor marker levels, providing an effective basis for real-time monitoring of treatment outcomes.