Deep learning applied to the imaging diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Each year, hepatocellular carcinoma is diagnosed in more than half a million people worldwide. It is the fifth most common cancer in men and the seventh most common cancer in women. Its diagnosis is currently made using imaging techniques, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. For most cirrhotic patients, these methods are enough for diagnosis, foregoing the necessity of a liver biopsy. In order to improve outcomes and bypass obstacles, many companies and clinical centers have been trying to develop deep learning systems that could be able to diagnose and classify liver nodules in the cirrhotic liver, in which the neural networks are one of the most efficient approaches to accurately diagnose liver nodules. Despite the advances in deep learning systems for the diagnosis of imaging techniques, there are many issues that need better development in order to make such technologies more useful in daily practice.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Cirrhosis; Machine learning; Artificial intelligence

Core Tip: Hepatocellular carcinoma is diagnosed using imaging techniques, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. In order to improve outcomes and bypass obstacles, many companies and clinical centers have been trying to develop deep learning systems that could be able to diagnose and classify liver nodules in the cirrhotic liver. Neural networks have become one of the most efficient approaches to accurately diagnose liver nodules using deep learning systems. Therefore, with the improvement of these techniques in the long term, they could be applicable in daily practice, modifying outcomes.