Three‐dimensional magnetic resonance elastography in chronic liver disease

Abstract Chronic liver disease (CLD) has become a major health problem worldwide owing to its increased morbidity and mortality. Evaluation of the degree of liver injury is crucial for the clinical management and treatment of CLD patients. In the current clinical practice, liver biopsy with histological analysis is the clinical standard for assessing the degree of CLD injury. However, liver biopsy is an invasive procedure that is limited by sampling errors and interobserver variability and is insufficient for screening and monitoring. Advanced three‐dimensional magnetic resonance elastography (3D MRE) is a simple, fast, safe, and noninvasive technology. This offers comprehensive insight into increased liver stiffness beyond stage‐specific fibrosis. This technology exhibits considerable potential for comprehensively and simultaneously assessing early necroinflammation, discriminating necroinflammation from fibrosis, detecting nonalcoholic steatohepatitis severity, predicting cirrhosis complications, and identifying tumor recurrence. Nevertheless, the clinical application and promotion of this technology are currently required in China. 3D MRE should evolve towards better clinical convenience and satisfaction to provide an imaging basis to improve treatment selection in CLD patients and facilitate its widespread use.