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© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignant tumour of the liver. In a cirrhotic liver, each nodule larger than 10 mm demands further work-up using CT or MRI. The Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) is still based on visual assessment and measurements. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether semi-automated quantification of visual LR-5 lesions is appropriate and can objectify HCC classification for personalized radiomic research. Methods: A total of 52 HCC patients (median age 67 years, 17% females, 83% males) from a retrospective data collection were evaluated visually and compared by the results using an oncology software with features of LI-RADS-based structured tumour evaluation and documentation, semi-automated tumour segmentation, and texture analysis. Results: Software-based evaluation of non-rim arterial-phase hyperenhancement (APHE) and non-peripheral washout, as well as the LI-RADS-score, showed no statistically significant differences compared with visual assessment (p = 0.2, 0.7, 0.17), with a consensus between a human reader and the software approach in 98% (APHE), 89% (washout), and 93% (threshold growth) of cases, respectively. The software provided automated LI-RADS classification, structured reporting, and quantitative features for HCC registries and radiomic research. Conclusions: The presented work may serve as an outlook for LI-RADS-based automated qualitative and quantitative evaluation. Future research may show if texture analysis can be used to foster personalized medical approaches in HCC.

Details

Title
Enhancing LI-RADS Through Semi-Automated Quantification of HCC Lesions
Author
Jöbstl Anna 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Tierno, Piera Maria 1 ; Gerstner Anna-Katharina 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Feuchtner, Gudrun Maria 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Schaefer, Benedikt 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Tilg Herbert 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Widmann Gerlig 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Department of Radiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria; [email protected] (A.J.); [email protected] (P.M.T.); [email protected] (A.-K.G.); [email protected] (G.M.F.) 
 Department of Internal Medicine I, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria; [email protected] (B.S.); [email protected] (H.T.) 
First page
400
Publication year
2025
Publication date
2025
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20754426
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3254566078
Copyright
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.