Preoperative determination of pathological grades of primary single HCC: development and validation of a scoring model

Purpose This study aimed to establish a reliable diagnostic score model for the preoperative determination of pathological grade in HCC based on gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) enhanced MRI and biochemical indicators. Methods In this retrospective study, we analyzed 139 patients with HCC who underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA MRI between 2014 and 2020, including an establishment cohort of 76 patients and a validation cohort of 63 patients. Based on the imaging features demonstrated on Gd-EOB-DTPA MRI images and biochemical indicators of the establishment cohort, a scoring model based on logistic regression was developed, and compared with postoperative pathological findings in terms of effective determination of pathological grade. The validity of the scoring model was assessed by ROC curves and an independent external validation cohort. Results Three parameters related to pathological grades were identified, including maximum diameter of the tumor, peritumoral hypointensity in the hepatobiliary phase, and [alkaline phosphatase (U/L) + gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (U/L)]/ lymphocyte count (× 10 9 /L) (AGLR) ratios. Based on these three parameters, a scoring model was developed. ROC curve showed that a score of > 5 was set as the threshold for determining pathological grades with accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 89.5%, 75.0%, 95.1%, 85.7%, and 90.7%, respectively. Conclusion The study provided the groundwork for a promising and easily implementable scoring model for preoperative determination of HCC pathological grades, for which further validation should be pursued. Graphical abstract