**3. Preneoplastic status. Cirrhotic liver monitoring**

Cirrhotic liver is characterized by the occurrence of nodules with different sizes and evolution degrees, so that regenerative nodules, dysplastic nodules and even early hepatocellular carcinoma can coexist at some moment during disease progression. There are studies showing that between 59-94% of newly diagnosed liver nodules in cirrhotic patients have malignant histology and up to 50% of hyperechoic lesions, with ultrasound appearance of hemangioma, ultimately prove to be hepatocellular carcinoma. Therefore, current practice in many centers considers that any new lesion revealed in a cirrhotic patient should be regarded as malignant until otherwise proven (Andreana et al, 2009). There are three categories of cirrhotic liver nodules: regenerative, dysplastic (considered as premalignant conditions) and tumoral (HCC) (Int WP, 1995).
