Yonsei University · Medicine
Professor Hyungjin Rhee's research lab specializes in radiology and medical imaging, with a focus on improving the diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA). The lab investigates imaging biomarkers—such as IRE-HCC, Gd-EOB-MRI features, and CD signatures—that reflect tumor aggressiveness, microenvironment characteristics (e.g., hypoxia, fibrosis, stemness), and molecular pathways involving cancer-associated fibroblasts and KRT19 expression. Their work integrates advanced medical imaging with molecular pathology to enhance early detection, risk stratification, and treatment monitoring in liver cancers.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
IRE-HCCs demonstrate aggressive histopathologic features, including more hypoxic and fibrotic tumor microenvironments and increased stemness, compared to non-IRE-HCCs. IRE might therefore serve as a noninvasive imaging biomarker for aggressive HCC.
Keratin (KRT) 19 is a poor prognostic marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, regulatory mechanisms underlying its expression remain unclear. We have previously reported the presence of fibrous tumor stroma in KRT19-positive HCC, suggesting that cross-talk between cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) and tumor epithelial cells could regulate KRT19 expression. This was investigated in this study using an <i>in vitro</i> model of paracrine interaction between HCC cell lines (HepG2, SNU4
Our new diagnostic criteria on Gd-EOB-MRI may help to improve the discrimination of early HCC from benign hepatocellular nodules.
In pancreatic cancer, imaging plays an essential role in surveillance, diagnosis, resectability evaluation, and treatment response evaluation. Pancreatic cancer surveillance in high-risk individuals has been attempted using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Imaging diagnosis and resectability evaluation are the most important factors influencing treatment decisions, where computed tomography (CT) is the preferred modality. EUS, MRI, and positron emission tomography
CD signature was identified to predict the prognosis of iCCA. The combined evaluation of histology of CD and protein expression status of CRP, CDH2, TFF1 and S100P might help subtyping and predicting clinical outcomes of iCCA.
Most early HCCs did not show arterial enhancement and washout pattern on both MDCT and Gd-EOB-MRI. Gd-EOB-MRI may provide several ancillary findings for diagnosis of early HCC such as decreased hepatobiliary uptake, T2 hyperintensity and signal drop in opposed phase.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous neoplasm, both from the molecular and histomorphological aspects. One example of heterogeneity is the expression of keratin 19 (K19) in a subset (4-28%) of HCCs. The presence of K19 expression in HCCs has important clinical implications, as K19-positive HCCs have been associated with aggressive tumor biology and poor prognosis. Histomorphologically, K19-positive HCCs demonstrate a more infiltrative appearance, poor histological differentiation, m
Our MRI prognostic score for overall survival of MF-iCCA showed comparable discriminatory performance with pathological staging systems and might be used to determine an optimal treatment strategy.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progresses through multiple stages of hepatocarcinogenesis, with each stage characterized by specific changes in vascular supply, drainage, and microvascular structure. These vascular changes significantly influence the imaging findings of HCC, enabling non-invasive diagnosis. Vascular changes in HCC are closely related to aggressive histological characteristics and treatment responses. Venous drainage from the tumor toward the portal vein in the surrounding liver
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