title: Magnetic resonance imaging following treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with sorafenib.
abstract: Hepatocellular carcinomas are highly vascular tumors, showing progressive hypervascularity by the process of neoangiogenesis. Tumor angiogenesis is critical for tumor growth as well as metastatic spread therefore, imaging and quantification of tumor neo-angiogenesis is essential for monitoring response to targeted therapies and predicting disease progression. Sorafenib is a molecular targeting agent used for treating hypervascular tumors. This drug is now the standard of care in treatment of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Due to its anti-angiogenic and anti-proliferative actions, imaging findings following treatment with Sorafenib are quite distinct when compared to conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Liver MRI is a widely adopted imaging modality for assessing treatment response in hepatocellular carcinoma and imaging features may reflect pathophysiological changes within the tumor. In this mini-review, we will discuss MRI findings after Sorafenib treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma and review the feasibility of MRI as an early biomarker in differentiating responders from non-responders after treatment with molecular targeting agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. ; Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Joon-Il
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Imagawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, MD Anderson Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bhosale
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, VA Puget Sound, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Puneet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bhargava
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Temel
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tirkes
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Tara E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Seery
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Chandana
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lall
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009536:Niacinamide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077157:Sorafenib; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds; D009536:Niacinamide; D000077157:Sorafenib
keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; MRI; Sorafenib; mRECIST