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The utility of diffusion-weighted imaging in improving the sensitivity of LI-RADS classification of small hepatic observations suspected of malignancy

  • Hepatobiliary
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Abstract

Purpose

We investigated the added value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)/apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the categorization of small hepatic observation (≤ 20 mm) detected in patients with chronic liver disease in reference to LI-RADS (liver imaging reporting and data system) classification system.

Methods

We prospectively evaluated 165 patients with chronic liver disease with small hepatic observations (≤ 20 mm) which were previously categorized as LI-RADS grade 3–5 on dynamic contrast-enhanced CT (DCE-CT). All patients were submitted to a functional MRI including DCE and DWI. Using LI-RADS v2017, two radiologists independently evaluated the observations and assigned a LI-RADS category to each observation using DCE-MRI alone and combined DCE-MRI and DWI/ADC. In the combined technique, the radiologists assigned a LI-RADS category based on a modified LI-RADS criteria in which restricted diffusion on DWI was considered a major feature of HCC. We evaluated the inter-reader agreement with Kappa statistics and compared the diagnostic performance of the LI-RADS with two imaging techniques by Fisher’s exact test using histopathology as the reference standard.

Results

Combined technique in LI-RADS yielded better sensitivities (reader 1, 97% [65/67]; reader 2, 95.5% [64/67]) for HCC diagnosis than DCE-MRI alone (reader 1, 80.6% [54/67], p = 0.005; reader 2, 83.6% [56/67], p = 0.04). The specificities were insignificantly lower in combined technique (reader 1, 88.4% [107/121]; reader 2, 77.7% [94/121]) than in DCE-MRI alone (reader 1, 90.9% [110/121], p = 0.67; reader 2, 79.3% [96/121], p = 0.88). The inter-reader agreement of the LI-RADS scores between combined technique and DCE-MRI was good (κ = 0.765).

Conclusion

The use of DWI/ADC as an additional major criterion, improved the sensitivity of LI-RADS in the diagnosis of HCC while keeping high specificity.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank all staff members and colleagues in the Radiology Department-Zagazig University for their helpful cooperation and all the study participants for their patience and support.

Funding

The authors state that this work has not received any funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiodiagnosis, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Mohammad Abd Alkhalik Basha, Faten Fawzy Mohammad, Mai E. M. Khamis, Ahmed Mohamed El-Maghraby, Ahmed A. El Sammak, Rania M. Al-Molla, Heba A. E. Mohamed, Ahmad Abdullah Alnaggar, Hanan Abdelhameed Hassan, Taghreed M. Azmy, Ahmed M. Alaa Eldin, Mostafa Mohamad Assy, Mohamad Zakarya AlAzzazy, Khaled Mohamed Altaher, Heba Fathy Tantawy, Sameh Saber, Mohamed I. Amin, Ahmed Mohamed Alsowey & Mohamed Hesham Saleh Radwan

  2. Department of Radiodiagnosis, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

    Rania Refaat

  3. Department of Medical Oncology, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Heba F. Taha

  4. Department of Tropical Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Talaat Fathy

  5. Department of Internal MEDICINE, Hepatology Division, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Amr Shaaban Hanafy

  6. Department of Pathology, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Eman H. Abdelbary

Authors
  1. Mohammad Abd Alkhalik Basha
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  2. Rania Refaat
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  3. Faten Fawzy Mohammad
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  7. Rania M. Al-Molla
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  8. Heba A. E. Mohamed
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Abd Alkhalik Basha.

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The authors of this manuscript declare no relevant conflicts of interest, and no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

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Institutional review board approval was obtained.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all patients.

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Basha, M.A.A., Refaat, R., Mohammad, F.F. et al. The utility of diffusion-weighted imaging in improving the sensitivity of LI-RADS classification of small hepatic observations suspected of malignancy. Abdom Radiol 44, 1773–1784 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-018-01887-z

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