Clinical Outcomes of Patients With Suspicious (LI-RADS 4) Liver Observations

Abstract

Hepatocellular cancer (HCC) surveillance is associated with increased curative treatment and improved survival, underscoring its importance in patients with cirrhosis.¹ Surveillance is 1 step in a larger HCC screening continuum, and those with abnormal screening results must undergo diagnostic evaluation with multiphase computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).² The Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) classifies liver observations in at-risk patients based on risk of malignancy and HCC, with LR-5 observations having a positive predictive value exceeding 95% for HCC. However, indeterminate liver nodules (ie, LR-3 or LR-4) are commonly observed in clinical practice, associated with heterogenous HCC risk, and have large variations in practice management.^3,4 We previously reported the natural history of LR-3 observations in a multicenter cohort of patients with cirrhosis, demonstrating a high annual incidence for HCC development of 8.4 cases per 100 person-years;⁵ however, the natural history of LR-4 observations remains uncertain. Herein, we aimed to characterize clinical outcomes in patients with LR-4 observations in a multicenter cohort.