Imaging related research progress of microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma patients: A mini-review

Microvascular invasion (MVI) is an independent risk factor for the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and affects the formulation of treatment plans. The mechanism of MVI in HCC may involve two ways: Mediated by the vascular pattern surrounding the tumor tissue and invasive-mediated metastasis. At present, imaging techniques have been used to explore the preoperative prediction of MVI, including semantic imaging features, radiomics, deep learning, and other methods. However, there are problems such as poor model robustness, moderate predictive performance, and insufficient interpretability. Further exploration and research are needed to achieve clinical translational applications.