Evaluation of immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma: current advances in CT and MRI imaging techniques

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide with a high mortality. Tumor immune microenvironment (TIM) plays an important role in the progress of tumorigenesis, progression, and anti-tumor therapy of HCC. The advent of immunotherapy agents has provided new opportunities and options for HCC patients. The immunotherapeutic efficacy is closely associated with the TIM status of HCC patients, which currently relies on postoperative pathological examination. Preoperative non-invasive evaluation of TIM is of great clinical significance in guiding treatment strategies and predicting the response to immunotherapy. This article summarizes the recent research progress in CT and MRI-based imaging techniques for the preoperative non-invasive assessment of TIM in HCC patients.