Preliminary radiogenomic study of hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma: associations between MRI features and mutations

Aim: To investigate associations between MRI features and high-frequency mutations of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: This study included 58 HCC patients who underwent contrast-enhanced MRI prior to surgical resection and genome sequencing. MRI features and mutation information were evaluated. Results: The top five most frequently mutated genes in HCC were TP53 (53.45%), TAF1 (24.14%), PDE4DIP (22.41%), ABCA13 (18.97%) and LRP1B (17.24%). Mutations in TP53 and LRP1B were associated with tumor necrosis (p = 0.035) and mosaic architecture (p = 0.015), respectively. Mutations in ABCA13 were associated with mosaic architecture (p = 0.025) and necrosis (p = 0.010). Conclusion: This preliminary radiogenomics analysis showed associations between MRI features and high-frequency mutations in HBV-related HCCs.Radiogenomics has been helpful for disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and drug development, and has shown good prospects in gene function analysis and gene therapy research. Some studies have explored the relationship between the underlying genotype and MRI features. However, few studies have indicated the relationship between the underlying genotype and MRI features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) so far. In this study, the top five most frequently mutated genes in hepatitis B virus-related HCCs were TP53, TAF1, PDE4DIP, ABCA13 and LRP1B and certain associations existed between MRI features and high-frequency mutations. These results demonstrated the potential clinical value of imaging traits as surrogate markers of molecular portraits in HCC. The potential correlations between MRI features and high-frequency mutations may provide effective clinical information for hepatitis B virus-related HCCs.