# Is There a Role for Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy in Thermal Ablation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma?

## TL;DR

This study explores whether a liver imaging test is needed before a common cancer treatment, finding that it's generally safe even in patients with poor liver function.

## Contribution

The study is the first to investigate the role of hepatobiliary scintigraphy in guiding thermal ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma.

## Key findings

- Thermal ablation caused minimal loss of functional liver tissue (median 0.9% per lesion).
- Patients with severely impaired liver function tolerated ablation without significant complications.
- Routine use of hepatobiliary scintigraphy before ablation is not necessary.

## Abstract

Thermal ablation is an established minimally invasive treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, but it inevitably affects surrounding healthy liver tissue, which may be clinically relevant in patients with limited hepatic reserve. Hepatobiliary scintigraphy is an imaging technique that enables quantitative assessment of global and regional liver function, yet its role in the setting of thermal ablation has not been previously explored. In this pilot study, we evaluated patients who underwent thermal ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma and had hepatobiliary scintigraphy performed prior to treatment. We assessed procedural safety and estimated the amount of functional liver tissue affected by ablation. Our results show that thermal ablation resulted in only minimal loss of functional liver parenchyma (median 0.9% of total liver volume per ablated lesion) and was feasible even in patients with severely impaired liver function. These findings suggest that routine use of hepatobiliary scintigraphy prior to thermal ablation is not required.

Purpose: Hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) provides quantitative assessment of (future remnant) liver function, aiding clinical decision-making for surgical resection and radioembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its role for thermal ablation remains unexplored. This pilot study aimed to explore the potential role of HBS in guiding patient selection and risk stratification for thermal ablation. Methods: All HCC patients who underwent thermal ablation between January 2021 and August 2025 and had HBS performed prior to ablation were retrospectively reviewed. Ablated non-tumor liver volumes (i.e., volume of ablated healthy parenchyma) were quantified using 3D segmentation. Absolute ablated liver function (i.e., the proportion of total HBS-derived liver function ablated) was also assessed. Clinical outcomes included changes in clinical scores (e.g., Child–Pugh) and the occurrence of hepatic decompensation after ablation. Results: Nine patients (13 tumors) were included. Median global HBS-derived liver function was 3.2%/min/m2 (range 1.6–6.8%/min/m2). Three patients developed hepatic decompensation > 3 months after ablation, unlikely related to thermal ablation itself. The patient with the lowest baseline function (1.6%/min/m2) tolerated ablation without hepatic decompensation. Median ablated non-tumor liver volume was 14.4 cm3 (range 3.1–46.7 cm3), corresponding to a median of 0.9% (range 0.2–3.6%) of total liver volume ablated per lesion. Median absolute ablated function was 0.05%/min/m2 (range 0.02–0.21%/min/m2). Conclusions: Thermal ablation was feasible and well tolerated even in patients with severely impaired liver function. Routine pre-ablation HBS does not appear necessary for thermal ablation of HCC, as only a small percentage of total functional liver volume is ablated.