Benign liver lesions 2022: Guideline for clinical practice of Associazione Italiana Studio del Fegato (AISF), Societa Italiana di Radiologia Medica e Interventistica (SIRM), Societa Italiana di Chirurgia (SIC), Societa Italiana di Ultrasonologia in Medicina e Biologia (SIUMB), Associazione Italiana di Chirurgia Epatobilio-Pancreatica (AICEP), Societa Italiana Trapianti d'Organo (SITO), Societa Italiana di Anatomia Patologica e Citologia Diagnostica (SIAPEC-IAP) - Part I - Cystic lesions

Benign liver lesions are increasingly diagnosed in daily clinical practice due to the growing use of imaging techniques for the study of the abdomen in patients who have non-specific symptoms and do not have an increased risk of hepatic malignancy. They include simple or parasitic cysts and solid benign tumors which differ widely in terms of prevalence, clinical relevance, symptoms and natural history and often lead to significant clinical problems relating to diagnosis and clinical management. Following the need to have updated guidelines on the management of benign focal liver lesions, the Scientific Societies mainly involved in their management have promoted the drafting of a new dedicated document. This document was drawn up according to the present Italian rules and methodologies necessary to produce clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic guidelines based on evidence. Here we present the first part of the guideline, concerning the characterization of focal hepatic lesions detected by ultrasound, and the diagnosis and clinical management of simple and parasitic hepatic cysts, and of polycystic liver disease.(c) 2022 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Benign liver lesions are increasingly diagnosed, and there is a need for updated guidelines for their management. This article presents the first part of a guideline on the characterization and clinical management of benign focal liver lesions based on Italian rules and methodologies.