Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to explore the value of ultrasound (US), computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of intrahepatic tumor activity in patients with primary liver cancer (PLC) after interventional therapy. Methods 60 patients with PLC were treated with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in our hospital between March 2015 and January 2019. The US, CT, MRI and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were performed 3 to 5 weeks after operation. The results of DSA were used as gold standard to observe the efficacies of US, CT and MRI in evaluating residue tumor activities. Results Out of 60 patients with PLC, the DSA examination demonstrated 72 lesions 3 to 5 weeks after TACE, and based on which, the MRI showed 65(90.3%) lesions, the US showed 34 (47.2%) lesions, and the CT scan showed 55(76.4%) lesions, suggesting the poor US detections (P<0.05); the sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp) and accuracy (Ac) of MRI were 87.5%, 95.8% and 83.3%, while those by US were 41.6%, 97.9% and 39.5%, and by CT were 75.0%, 89.5% and 64.5%, indicating that the Se and Ac of MRI scan were superior to US or CT, and the Sp by the three methods were similar (P＜0.05). Conclusion MRI is of high value in evaluating intrahepatic residue tumor activity in patients with PLC after TACE.

Key words: Hepatoma, Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, Magnetic resonance imaging, Computerized tomography, Ultrasound, Tumor activity evaluation