Aim: To determine inter-reader agreement in categorization of imaging features using the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) treatment response (LR-TR) algorithm in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with conventional transarterial chemoembolization (cTACE).
Methods: Two radiologists used the LR-TR algorithm to assess 112 computed tomography (CT) examinations of 102 patients treated with cTACE. The inter-observer agreement in categorization of LR-TR features was assessed using kappa (κ) statistics.
Results: There was substantial inter-observer agreement between the two reviewers using the LR-TR algorithm (κ = 0.70; 95% CI 0.58-0.81). The two reviewers categorized tumors as non-viable in 37 (33.0%) and 39 (34.8%) of 112 examinations, viable in 58 (51.8%) and 62 (55.4%) examinations, and equivocal in 18 (16.1%) and 11 (9.8%) examinations, respectively. There was almost perfect inter-observer agreement for the LR-TR non-viable category (κ = 0.80; 95% CI 0.68-0.92), substantial agreement for the viable category (κ = 0.78 95% CI 0.67-0.90), and fair agreement for the equivocal category (κ = 0.25; 95% CI 0.02-0.49).
Conclusion: The LR-TR algorithm conveys high degrees of inter-observer agreement for the assessment of CT imaging features in the viable and non-viable categories. Further refinement of indeterminate features may be necessary to improve the correct categorization of equivocal lesions.
Keywords: CT; Hepatocellular carcinoma; LI-RADS treatment response; TACE.
© 2021. The Author(s).