Comparison of international guidelines for noninvasive diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: 2018 update

ABSTRACT

The goal of this review is to present the similarities and differences among the latest guidelines for noninvasive diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) of American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS), Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL), and Korean Liver Cancer Association-National Cancer Center (KLCA-NCC) of Korea. In 2018, major guideline updates have been proposed by the AASLD, EASL and KLCA-NCC; AASLD newly incorporated LI-RADS into their HCC diagnostic algorithm. The AASLD and EASL guidelines now include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using hepatobiliary contrast media as a first-line diagnostic test in addition to dynamic computed tomography and MRI using extracellular contrast media and the KLCA-NCC and EASL guidelines also include contrast-enhanced ultrasound as a second-line diagnostic test. We will comprehensively review the HCC surveillance and diagnostic algorithms and compare and highlight key features for each guideline. We also address limitations of current systems for the noninvasive diagnosis of HCC.