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Santillan Hepatoma Res 2020;6:63 Hepatoma Research
DOI: 10.20517/2394-5079.2020.60

Review Open Access

CT and MRI of the liver for hepatocellular carcinoma

Cynthia Santillan

Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92103, USA.

Correspondence to: Dr. Cynthia Santillan, Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, 200 W Arbor Dr. MC
8756, San Diego, CA 92103, USA. E-mail:csantillan@health.ucsd.edu

How to cite this article: Santillan C. CT and MRI of the liver for hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatoma Res 2020;6:63.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2020.60

Received: 18 Jun 2020 First Decision: 23 Jul 2020 Revised: 30 Jul 2020 Accepted: 10 Aug 2020 Published: 1 Sep 2020
Academic Editor: Yuko Kono Copy Editor: Cai-Hong Wang Production Editor: Jing Yu

Abstract
Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are commonly used modalities for the
imaging based diagnosis and staging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Liver Imaging Reporting and Data
System (LI-RADS) was initially released in 2011 in an effort to standardize the interpretation and reporting of these
Received: First Decision: Revised: Accepted: Published:
studies in patients at increased risk for the development of HCC. With the release of LI-RADS v2018, LI-RADS has
Science Editor: Copy Editor: Production Editor: Jing Yu reached two important milestones - 10 years since the formation of the American College of Radiology supported
LI-RADS committee and integration of LI-RADS into the 2018 American Association for the Study of Liver Disease
practice guidance for HCC. In this article, we will discuss recent changes to LI-RADS with v2018, technical
recommendations for the performance of CT and MRI in patients at risk for HCC, and critical imaging features in
the LI-RADS algorithm.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System, magnetic resonance imaging,
computed tomography

INTRODUCTION
LI-RADS was originally developed to provide a consistent method of conveying relative concern for the
presence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or other malignancies based on Computed tomography(CT)
[1,2]
or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of a patient at increased risk of developing HCC . This relative
concern for HCC, malignancy, or tumor in vein is conveyed by the different categories shown in Table 1.
Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) v2018 has now evolved to also include guidance

© The Author(s) 2020. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
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