Early prediction of 1-year tumor response of hepatocellular carcinoma with lipiodol deposition pattern through post-embolization cone-beam computed tomography during conventional transarterial chemoembolization.

• The maximal PLR value indicates the least lipiodol-distributed region in an HCC tumor. The maximal LLR value indicates the least lipiodol-deposited region in the tumor due to incomplete lipiodol delivery. PLR and LLR are concepts like signal-to-noise ratio to characterize the lipiodol retention pattern objectively to predict 1-year tumor progression immediately without any quantification software for 3D image analysis immediately after cTACE treatment. • COV of PLR can facilitate the early prediction of tumor progression/recurrence and indicate the section of embolized HCC, providing the operator's good targets for sequential cTACE or combined ablation. • The validation cohort in our study verified standard COVs of PLR and LLR. The validation process was more convincing and delicate than that of previous retrospective studies.