ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Hepatobiliary Diseases
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1687375
CT-guided percutaneous aspiration and bleomycin sclerotherapy for symptomatic hepatic cysts: Technique and three-year outcomes
Provisionally accepted
- Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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Abstract Objective We aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of CT-guided percutaneous aspiration and bleomycin sclerotherapy for symptomatic hepatic cysts at a minimum follow-up of 3 years. Materials and Methods Medical records of patients who underwent CT-guided percutaneous aspiration and bleomycin sclerotherapy for large (>5 cm) symptomatic simple hepatic cysts and polycystic liver disease were reviewed retrospectively. The choice of percutaneous needle or catheter aspiration was based on the estimated cyst volume. The administered dose of bleomycin was calculated at 5 mg per 100 mL of cyst fluid, with a maximum dose not exceeding 0.6–0.8 mg/kg of body weight per patient. Clinical outcomes, including symptom relief evaluated by the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire and the technical response defined by the cyst volume reduction rate, were assessed at 6-, 12-, 24-, and 36-month follow-ups post-sclerotherapy. Results A total of 96 cysts in 88 patients (mean age 61.8 ± 18.2 years; 56.8% female) were treated with single-session percutaneous aspiration and bleomycin sclerotherapy. Of these, 81 patients had symptomatic simple hepatic cysts, while 7 had polycystic liver disease. The total bleomycin dose administered ranged from 10 mg to 50 mg per patient, with a median dose of 41.0 mg. All patients reported significant symptom relief, with 81 patients (92.0%) experiencing complete symptom resolution
Keywords: Simple hepatic cyst, Polycystic liver disease, Sclerotherapy, Bleomycin, treatment outcome
Received: 17 Aug 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 LI, Lao and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Long LI, radiolilong@hotmail.com
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