Visualization of microvasculature and thrombi by X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography in hepatocellular carcinoma

Visualization of the microvascular network and thrombi in the microvasculature is a key step to evaluating the development of tumor growth and metastasis, and influences treatment selection. X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography (PCCT) is a new imaging technique that can detect minute changes of density and reveal soft tissues discrimination at micrometer-scale resolution. In this study, six human resected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues were investigated with PCCT. A histological stain was added to estimate the accuracy of PCCT. The results showed that the fine structures of the microvasculature (measuring 30-100 µm) and thrombi in tiny blood vessels were displayed clearly on imaging the HCC tissues by PCCT. Moreover, density distributions of the thrombi were obtained, which could be reliably used to distinguish malignant from benign thrombi in HCC. In conclusion, PCCT can clearly show the three-dimensional subtle structures of HCC that cannot be detected by conventional absorption-based computed tomography and provides a new method for the imageology of HCC.