Gut and Liver  2017;11(6):852-859

doi:10.5009/gnl16521

Role of Shear Wave Elastography in Evaluating the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B.

Jae Yoon JEONG 1 ; Joo Hyun SOHN ; Won SOHN ; Chan Hyuk PARK ; Tae Yeob KIM ; Dae Won JUN ; Yongsoo KIM ; Woo Kyoung JEONG

Affiliations

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Keywords

Elastography; shear wave; Liver stiffness; Hepatitis B; chronic; Carcinoma; hepatocellular

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate the use of measurements of liver stiffness (LS) by two-dimensional real-time shear wave elastography (SWE) for predicting the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). METHODS: We retrospectively collected data on 291 enrolled patients with CHB whose LS had been measured using SWE. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 46.8 years; males predominated (67%), and 40 of the patients (14%) had clinical cirrhosis. Among the patients, 165 (56.7%) received antiviral treatment. The median LS value was 7.4 kPa, and the median follow-up period was 35.8 months (range, 3.0 to 52.8 months). During follow-up, HCC developed in 13 patients (4.5%), and the cumulative incidence rates of HCC at 1, 2, and 4 years were 1.1%, 3.6%, and 8.4%, respectively. Based on a multivariate analysis, older age (≥50 years) and higher LS value (≥10 kPa) were independently associated with the risk of developing HCC (hazard ratio [HR], 4.53, p=0.023; and HR, 4.08, p=0.022). The cumulative incidence rate of HCC was significantly higher in patients with higher LS values (≥10 kPa) than in those with lower LS values ( < 10 kPa) (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Increased LS measured by SWE at any time point regardless of antiviral treatment is associated with an increased risk of HCC in patients with CHB.