Definition:

• Patient in whom the incidence of HCC is sufficient to justify screening or surveillance according to AASLD guidelines

Comments:

• AASLD guidelines as published in 2011 recommend surveillance be performed in the following patient populations
  • Chronic Hepatitis B – Asian male carriers >40yrs old, Asian female carriers >50yrs old, Carriers with family history of HCC, African/North American Blacks
  • Cirrhosis of any cause

• LI-RADS has been constructed for evaluation of observations in patients at high-risk for HCC.
  • Use of LI-RADS in patients who are not at high-risk for HCC may result in a false-positive imaging diagnosis for HCC
  • LI-RADS categories are assigned in high-risk patients based only on imaging features.  Although the categories are assigned based only on imaging features, the categories should be interpreted in the context of other available data, such as biomarkers and the patient’s prior probability of developing or having HCC