Abstract:
Hepatic fibrosis is a reparative response of the liver following chronic liver injury. The non-invasive assessment and staging of hepatic fibrosis are of great importance in evaluating the condition of patients with chronic liver disease, while precise quantification analysis of hepatic fibrosis is critical in assessing the severity of cirrhosis, measuring the efficacy of innovative therapies, and determining appropriate treatment methods, which have profound implications for patient prognosis. Traditionally, hepatic fibrosis staging has relied on invasive liver biopsy, but this method is limited by its invasiveness, susceptible to potential complications, and sampling errors arising from uneven lesion distribution. Non-invasive imaging techniques, characterized by high sensitivity, comprehensive assessment, and quantification capabilities, have become effective tools for evaluating hepatic fibrosis, nuclear medicine molecular imaging can directly depict and quantify metabolic changes following probe-target binding at the molecular level, allowing for the quantification of the pathophysiological process of hepatic fibrosis. The authors review the recent advancements and applications of nuclear medicine molecular probes in hepatic fibrosis research, with the goal of offering novel perspectives and evidence for future clinical diagnosis.