The study was mainly focused on 3D reconstruction technique to evaluate liver reserve function, and combined with clinical serological index to draw a formula to assist the surgeon to assess the liver reserve function. The ICG clearance test can assess the liver reserve function safely and accurately,[17] therefore, we took the ICG-R15 value as a reference index for liver reserve function. From the Table 1, the liver reserve function was influenced by many factors, such as age, HGB, PLT, ALB, TB, ALT, AST and SNLR. Among these affected factors, TB, ALB, age, SNLR were independent risk factors of ICG-R15 value. TB affected the ICG-R15 value, mainly related to the metabolism of bilirubin. When the apoptosis of red blood cell, HGB was released into the blood and transported to the liver combining with serum protein to be ingested by hepatocytes and converted into bilirubin, excreted through the biliary tract. On the other hand, ICG was transported to the liver by serum albumin, and it was excreted by the prototype via the biliary tract. Therefore, bilirubin has a competitive, inhibitory relationship with ICG. Meaning that when the TB is increasing, it may inhibit the speed of ICG transported to the liver and affect the ICG-R15 value [22]. Especially for the patient with biliary obstruction, the accuracy of the ICG clearance test was significantly affected [23]. Though the study had excluded patients with TB higher than 2 times of the normal, the influence of TB didn’t completely eliminate. And we found that when TB was higher than 17.45 umol/L, it would have a greater impact on the ICG clearance test. In additional, ALB as a transporter of the ICG [24, 25], when serum albumin decreased, it would affect the clearance rate of ICG. In the study, we found that when the serum albumin was lower than 39.6 g/L, it might affect the clearance rate of ICG. Age as an independent risk factor affecting the ICG clearance test, it would be mainly related to chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB). Although there was no significant difference of the patients with HBV between the groups (79.38% VS 71.43%,p = 0.241), the age was higher in ICG-R15 ≥ 10% group patients than the ICG-R15 < 10% group patients (55.57 ± 11.12 VS 51.68 ± 12.24, pVS 71.43%, p = 0.009). Previous studies have shown that patients with HBV would make progress to cirrhosis or even decompensation [26, 27]. Furthermore, HBV can be as chronic infection, and the carriers might be with a normal liver function, which didn’t cause their attention, leading it difficult to determine the time of being infected by HBV. The patients with ICG-R15 ≥ 10% would be infected for a longer time than the patients with ICG-R15 < 10%, which resulted into more severe cirrhosis than the patients with ICG-R15 < 10%, therefore, the time of being infected by the HBV was a risk factor of ICG-R15 value. However, we can’t identify when the patients were infected by the HBV, and the age might reflect the time of the patients who were infected by HBV, indirectly. So we could take the age as a reference of the time of being infected by HBV when we evaluated the liver reserve function, especially for the patients with an age older than 55.5 years old.
The volume of spleen in patients with ICG-R15 ≥ 10% was larger than the patients with ICG-R15 < 10% (471.57 ± 282.31 VS284.12 ± 180.39, p < 0.001, Table 1), and SNLR was also higher (0.44 ± 0.29 VS 0.26 ± 0.16, p < 0.001). The spleen volume is mainly related to cirrhosis. As the cirrhosis increasing, the pressure of hepatic sinus would increase, showing the intrahepatic pressure increasing, resulting in the portal vein pressure increasing. The portal vein pressure which has increased was an obstacle for the splenic vein, resulting the increasing spleen volume and hypersplenism. The hypersplenism would destruct the PLT, so the PLT was lower in ICG-R15 ≥ 10% group (112.62 ± 72.50 VS 153.88 ± 76.22, p༜0.001, Table 1). By logistic regression analysis, we found that SNLR was an independent risk factor of the ICG-R15 value, and when SNLR ≥ 0.3397, meaning that the patients were 21.943 times to have the ICG-R15 ≥ 10% than those who not. After PSM, eliminating other affected factors of the ICG-R15 value, the SNLR was still higher in ICGR 15 ≥ 10% group (0.38 ± 0.22 VS 0.30 ± 0.18, p = 0.029, Table 1), indicating the PSM was reliable. SNLR was the independent risk factor of ICG-R15 value, but it was unreliable to predict the ICG-R15 ≥ 10% if just only considering the affection of SNLR when we evaluated the liver function (the AUC was 0.626, which was smaller than the AUC combining with serological indicators (the AUC = 0.733)). Therefore, estimating the ICG-R15 value should combine with other risk factors.
From multiple linear regression analysis, we got the SNLR-related formula for the ICG-R15 value [ICG-R15 = 0.36 × TB(umol/L) − 0.78 × ALB(g/L) + 7.783 × SNLR + 0.794 × PT(s) − 0.016 × PLT(/109) − 0.039 × ALT (IU/L) + 0.043 × AST(IU/L) + 23.846]. The difference of eICG-R15 and aICG-R15 was no significance, indicating that the eICG-R15 value was reliable. Additionally, the coefficient of SNLR was the largest in the formula, indicating that SNLR had the greatest affecting on liver reserve function. The levers of AST and ALT can be used as the related variable, mainly because the two enzymes were higher in liver cells and they would be released into the blood when the liver cells were damaged or died, reflecting the liver function situation. On the other hand, from the formula of purely serological index, the difference of eICG-R15 and aICG-R15 was also no significance, indicating that the formula of combining with SNLR and the formula of basing on serological index were comparable.
Furthermore, few studies had reported that the spleen can promote cirrhosis. This was related to the GFT-β1, which could activate the stellate cells, increasing extracellular matrix synithetizing and inhibiting the synthesis of collagenase and matrix metalloproteinase, reducing the decomposition of extracellular matrix, resulting the interstitial deposition in hepatocytes, producing liver fibrosis. However, macrophages in the red pulp of the spleen can secrete GFT-β1, via the portal vein into the liver and participating the process of liver fibrosis. In the cirrhosis model of rat, when the spleen was resected, the GFT-β1 would decrease. It was an evidence for the spleen can synthetise the GFT-β1.[28, 29] On the other hand, splenectomy can be used as a supportive treatment for the patients with cirrhosis, waiting for liver transplantation, because the splenectomy can slow down the progression of cirrhosis and improve the liver function. [30, 31] Therefore, it was credible to evaluate liver reserve function by SNLR. In this study, We found that the volume of spleen and SNLR were higher in ICG-R15 ≥ 10% patients. The SNLR could reflect the size of spleen volume and non-tumor liver volume in a way. The SNLR was larger meaning the non-tumor liver volume may be smaller, and the liver function was the sum of all normal liver cells function, therefore, SNLR was larger in the patients with ICG-R15 ≥ 10%. Both formulas of basing on serological indicators and combining with SNLR have had no significant difference in predicting actual ICG-R15 values. However, the SNLR could reflect the volume of spleen and liver, and we should choose the method of combining with SNLR to evaluate the liver reserve function.
The volume of spleen played an important role in the recovery of patients after hepatectomy and knowing the status of SNLR may be beneficial for us to choose the surgical methods in pre-operation. Posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) was still the main reason of death in patients after hepatectomy, and its incidence was about 7%[32, 33]. The residual liver volume after hepatectomy can be used as the main index to predict PHLF [34]. And there were also some studies suggested that the volume of spleen could affect the recovery of patients. When spleen volume/residual liver volume was higher, the recovery of liver function was slower [35]. After hepatectomy, splenic vein and portal vein blood flow could be increased, promoting the regeneration of hepatocytes [36], so splenectomy for some patients could relieve the progression of liver cirrhosis and the liver function would be better[37, 38]. At the same time, the overload portal venous reflux could lead to damage of liver endothelial cells, inhibit hepatocyte regeneration, and even occur PHLF [39], therefore, the volume of spleen could affect the recovery of patients after hepatectomy. Earlier studies focused on the effect of residual liver volume and spleen volume on postoperative[40], while this study mainly explored the relationship between SNLR and liver reserve function before hepatectomy, and obtained an alternative formula to provide a reference for evaluating the feasibility of surgery. However, the SNLR could reflect the preoperative non-tumor liver volume and spleen volume, indirectly, which can predict the ratio of spleen volume-to-postoperative residual liver volume. Thus, it can provide a reference for the treatment of hepatectomy combined with splenectomy to reduce the incidence of PHLF. On the other hand, the intraoperative bleeding volume, intraoperative blood transfusion volume and intraoperative blocking of portal vein blood flow time can also affect the PHLF. [41] The SNLR can provide reference for the surgeon to choose the methods of operation, but it couldn’t avoid the effect of intraoperative factors (intraoperative bleeding, blood transfusion, portal vein blocking time, etc.) on the PHLF. Therefore, it was still necessary to control the intraoperative bleeding. Furthermore, the indication of splenectomy was mainly based on the size of spleen and the condition of blood cells of the patients. So there needs a large number of clinical randomized controlled trials for SNLR to guide the hepatectomy combined with splenectomy. Furthermore, Siyuan Yao et al. suggested that the spleen volume/graft volume ratio was higher than 0.7, the small-for-size syndrome (SFSS) was at greater risk after living liver transplantation[26]. Therefore, for recipients and donors undergoing living liver transplantation, the recipient spleen volume and donor available for resection of the liver can be calculated by three-dimensional organ reconstruction technique before operation.Through this way, we can predict the ratio of spleen volume/graft volume before living liver transplantation to provide a reference for the surgeon to consider whether the recipient should undergo splenectomy. On the other hand, the ICG-R15 equivalent formula obtained by serological index, simply, could be used to predict the ICG-R15 value, but it couldn’t provide the volume of spleen and liver. The equivalent combined with SNLR could show the volume of spleen and liver directly, providing a reference for the surgeon before hepatectomy or living liver transplantation. Thus, evaluating the liver reserve function combining with SNLR is better than just based on serological index for evaluating the liver reserve function.
The limitations of this study were as following: (1) The retrospective study has its owe shortcomings, for example, we can not identify when the patients were infected by HBV, so the age was as an independent risk factor in this study. Actually, the time of being infected by HBV should be as the independent risk factor. (2) There needed a large number of clinical samples for further identifying the relationship of SNLR and ICG-R15, however, as far as we know, this study was the first research combining radiology to evaluate the liver function, which met the trend to combine with many ways to evaluate the liver function. (3) We can’t eliminate the effects of intrahepatic vascular (hepatic artery, hepatic vein, bile duct, etc.) when we reconstructed the 3D model of liver and spleen.