The Journal of Practical Medicine >

2026 , Vol. 42 >Issue 2: 176 - 184

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1006-5725.2026.02.002

Oncology: Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention

Application of CT perfusion parameters and serum CEA/AFP in monitoring post-TACE recurrence in primary hepatocellular carcinoma

  • Pengzheng LI ,
  • Baoguo CHENG ,
  • Jinzhan LIU ,
  • Weixing LI
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  • 1.Department of Medical Imaging，Xinxiang Central Hospital，Xinxiang 453000，Henan，China
    2.Department of Interventional，Xinxiang Central Hospital，Xinxiang 453000，Henan，China

Received date: 2025-09-23

  Online published: 2026-01-22

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Abstract

Objective To investigate the application of CT perfusion （CTP） parameters， carcinoembryonic antigen （CEA）， and alpha-fetoprotein （AFP） in monitoring recurrence after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization （TACE） in patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC）. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 203 HCC patients who underwent TACE at the hospital from September 2022 to September 2023. CTP parameters ［blood flow （BF）， blood volume （BV）， hepatic arterial perfusion index （HAI）， portal venous perfusion （PVP）］， CEA， and AFP levels were measured before and one month after TACE. Patients were followed up for one year and divided into recurrence and non-recurrence groups based on tumor status. Differences in BF， BV， HAI， PVP， CEA， and AFP levels between the two groups were compared. Receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curves were plotted to evaluate the predictive value of these indicators for post-TACE recurrence， and logistic regression was used to analyze influencing factors. Results Compared with pre-TACE levels， BF， BV， HAI， CEA， and AFP decreased one month after TACE， while PVP increased （P < 0.05）. Among the 203 patients， 75 （36.95%） experienced recurrence， while 128 （63.05%） remained recurrence-free. Compared with the non-recurrence group， the recurrence group exhibited higher BF， BV， HAI， CEA， and AFP levels and lower PVP （P < 0.05）. The AUC values for BF， BV， HAI， PVP， CEA， and AFP in predicting recurrence were 0.771， 0.787， 0.787， 0.735， 0.771， and 0.795， respectively. The combined detection of these indicators yielded an AUC of 0.968 （P < 0.05）. Logistic regression identified BF， BV， HAI， PVP， CEA， and AFP as independent risk factors for post-TACE recurrence （P < 0.05）. Conclusion CTP combined with serum tumor markers can effectively predict early recurrence in HCC patients after TACE.

Key words： primary hepatocellular carcinoma; transcatheter arterial chemoembolization; CT perfusion imaging; carcinoembryonic antigen; alpha-fetoprotein; recurrence; influencing factors

Cite this article

Pengzheng LI , Baoguo CHENG , Jinzhan LIU , Weixing LI . Application of CT perfusion parameters and serum CEA/AFP in monitoring post-TACE recurrence in primary hepatocellular carcinoma[J]. The Journal of Practical Medicine, 2026 , 42(2) : 176 -184 . DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1006-5725.2026.02.002

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