This article provides a glimpse into the future of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS), discussing the immediate and long-term plans for its continuing improvement and expansion. To complement the Core and Essentials components of the latest version of LI-RADS, a comprehensive manual will be released soon, and it will include technical recommendations, management guidance, as well as reporting instructions and templates. In this article, we briefly review the process by which LI-RADS has been developed until now, a process guided by a variable combination of data, expert opinion, and desire for congruency with other diagnostic systems in North America. We then look forward, envisioning that forthcoming updates to LI-RADS will occur regularly every 3 to 5 years, driven by emerging high-quality scientific evidence. We highlight some of the key knowledge and technology gaps that will need to be addressed to enable the needed refinements. We also anticipate future expansions in scope to meet currently unaddressed clinical needs. Finally, we articulate a vision for eventual unification of imaging system for HCC screening and surveillance, diagnosis and staging, and treatment response assessment.
Keywords: Diagnosis; Diagnostic imaging; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Practice guidelines; Screening and surveillance.