Can hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance be performed annually instead of every 6 months in at-risk patients with a negative initial MRI examination?

This retrospective study investigated the frequency and timing of development of significant hepatic lesions in patients at risk for HCC undergoing surveillance with an initially negative MRI. Out of 70 patients with an initially negative MRI who had mean follow-up of 36 months (range 12-60 months) by contrast-enhanced CT or MRI, no patients developed positive follow up at 1 year. One patient developed a low-risk LI-RADS 3 lesion at 24 months. It may be reasonable to extend the surveillance interval from six months to 12 months in such patients when the first screening examination is negative.