Noncontrast abbreviated MRI inferior to full-sequence MRI for post-TACE HCC surveillance

In a retrospective study of 195 patients, noncontrast abbreviated MRI (NC-AMRI) showed lower sensitivity (78.3% vs 92.4%) and specificity (79.6% vs 95.1%) than full-sequence MRI for detecting intrahepatic HCC recurrence after TACE, hindering its utility as a standalone monitorin…

• Single-center retrospective study of 195 patients with 267 TACE-treated HCC lesions using LI-RADS v2018/v2024 ancillary features (T2 hyperintensity, restricted diffusion) to simulate NC-AMRI.
• For viable tumors in treated lesions, NC-AMRI sensitivity was 76.5% (62/81) vs full-sequence MRI 87.7% (71/81) (p=0.04); specificity was 88.7% (165/186) vs 96.2% (179/186) (p=0.004).
• Study limitation includes its single-center, retrospective design and use of simulated rather than truly acquired noncontrast abbreviated sequences.

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