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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) vs. non-HCC: accuracy and reliability of Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System v2018

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PURPOSE: The Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) was created to standardize the diagnostic criteria for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and has undergone multiple revisions including a recent update in 2018 (v2018). The primary aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic performance and interrater reliability (IRR) of LI-RADS v2018 for distinguishing HCC from non-HCC primary hepatic malignancy in patients ‘at-risk’ for HCC. A secondary aim was to assess the impact of changes introduced in the v2018 diagnostic algorithm. METHODS: This retrospective study combined a 10-year experience of pathologically-proven primary liver malignancies from two large liver transplant centers. Two blinded readers independently evaluated each lesion and assigned a LI-RADS diagnostic category, additionally scoring all relevant imaging features. Changes in category based on the reader-provided features and the new v2018 criteria were assessed by a study coordinator. RESULTS: The final study cohort comprised 105 HCCs and 73 non-HCC primarily liver malignancies. LI-RADS had a high specificity for distinguishing HCC from non-HCC (89% and 90% for reader 1 and reader 2, respectively), and IRR was moderate to substantial for final LI-RADS category and most features. Revision of the LI-RADS v2018 diagnostic algorithm resulted in very few changes (5 [2.8%] and 3 [1.7%] for reader 1 and reader 2, respectively) in overall lesion classification. CONCLUSION: LI-RADS diagnostic categories and features had moderate to substantial IRR and high specificity for distinguishing HCC from non-HCC primary liver malignancy. Revision of LI-RADS v2018 diagnostic algorithm resulted in reclassification of very few lesions.