Ectopic Blood Supply of Hepatocellular Carcinoma as Depicted by Angiography with Computed Tomography: Associations with Morphological Features and Therapeutic History

OBJECTIVE To investigate the associations of ectopic blood supply of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with its morphological features and therapeutic history. METHODS Three hundred and six patients with 373 HCC lesions were enrolled in this study, and underwent biphasic contrast-enhanced scans on a 64-section MDCT. The anatomy of ectopic blood supply, morphological characteristics of HCC including the size, location and pseudocapsule, and history of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) therapy were quantitively assessed and statistically analyzed. RESULTS Ectopic blood supply was found in 30.8% (115/373) lesions. The ectopic arteries were predominantly composed of inferior phrenic artery (86/115) followed by left and right gastric artery (25/115). Tumor size, location, status of pseudocapsule, and history of TACE therapy could impact the origination of ectopic arteries (all p<0.05). CONCLUSION The ectopic feeding arteries of HCC predominantly composed of the perihepatic arteries are associated with the morphological features of the tumor and therapeutic history.