Comparison of the usefulness of three staging systems for hepatocellular carcinoma (CLIP, BCLC, and JIS) in Japan

Efficacy and safety of preoperative transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to compare preoperative transcatheter arterial chemotherapy (TACE) plus liver resection (LR) with liver resection (LR) alone for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, web of science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched from their initiation until 24 August 2021. Eligible languages were English and Chinese. This study includes only RCT and cohort studies. The primary outcome was the prognostic factors including overall survival rate (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and we also research the operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complication.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine trials (2 RCTs and 27 cohorts) were included, containing a total of 22023 patients, compared with hepatic resection, preoperative TACE plus LR shows the benefit of RFS (Hazard Ratio (HR)=0.80, 95%CI = [0.73-0.88], p < .001), and the combined therapy was associated with a higher OS for patients with HCC in Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) B stage (HR = 0.76, 95%CI = [0.60-0.96], p = .024). In terms of safety, combination therapy is related to less intraoperative blood loss (Weighted Mean Difference (WMD)=-11.17, 95%CI = [-21.79 to -0.54], p = .039); and there's no statistical significance in postoperative complication (Risk Ratio (RR)=0.99, 95%CI= [0.90-1.08], p = 0.771) and operative time (WMD = 7.57, 95%CI = [-5.07 to 20.20], p = .240).

CONCLUSION

TACE prior to surgery should be recommended as a routine treatment for HCC patients, especially BCLC B stage HCC, in view of its benefits for RFS and OS. Large, multicenter, and blinded randomized trials should be performed to confirm these findings.

Treatment and the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in Asia

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of malignant tumour in Asia. Treatment is decided according to the staging system with information on tumour burden and liver function. The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging system is the most commonly used staging system for the selection of appropriate treatments worldwide, and although it is highly evidenced-base, it has very strict guidelines for treatment. In Asian countries, many efforts have been made to expand the indications of each treatment and combination therapies as well as alternative therapies for better outcomes. The guidelines in Asia are less evidence-based than those in Western countries. More aggressive treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma are generally employed in the guidelines of Asian countries. Surgical resection is frequently employed for selected hepatocellular carcinoma patients with the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stages B and C, and combination therapies are sometimes selected, which are contrary to the recommendations of American and European association for the study of the liver guidelines. Recently, a paradigm shift in treatments for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma has occurred with molecular targeted agents, antibodies and immune checkpoint inhibitors in Asia. Atezolizumab+bevacizumab therapy has become the first-line systemic treatment ineligible for radical treatment or transarterial chemoembolization in Asian countries. The overall survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma varies substantially across Asia. Taiwan and Japan have the best clinical outcomes for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. Intensive surveillance programmes and the development of radical and non-radical treatments are indispensable for the improvement of prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Development of a novel prognostic nomogram for the early recurrence of liver cancer after curative hepatectomy

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant cancers worldwide. Curative resection is an effective treatment but HCC recurrence rates remain high. This study aimed to establish a novel prognostic nomogram to assess the risk of recurrence in patients following curative resection.

METHODS

A total of 410 patients undergoing HCC curative resection were recruited from the Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (GDPH). The cohort was divided into a training group (n=291) and a validation group (n=97). The risk factors for HCC early recurrence within 1 year of curative hepatectomy were identified. Finally, a multivariate prognostic nomogram was developed and validated.

RESULTS

Age, tumor number, tumor capsule, portal vein tumor thrombi, pathological grade, vascular tumor emboli, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and tumor size were identified as independent prognostic risk factors for HCC early recurrence within 1 year of curative hepatectomy. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was 0.806 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.755 to 0.857; P<0.001], and no AUC/ROC statistical difference was detected between the training and validation sets.

CONCLUSIONS

The nomogram effectively predicted postoperative HCC recurrence within 1 year after curative hepatectomy, which may be a useful tool for the postoperative treatment or follow up for HCC patients.

Overview of Prognostic Systems for Hepatocellular Carcinoma and ITA.LI.CA External Validation of MESH and CNLC Classifications

Prognostic assessment in patients with HCC remains an extremely difficult clinical task due to the complexity of this cancer where tumour characteristics interact with degree of liver dysfunction, patient general health status, and a large span of available treatment options. Several prognostic systems have been proposed in the last three decades, both from the Asian and European/North American countries. Prognostic scores, such as the CLIP score and the recent MESH score, have been generated on a solid statistical basis from real life population data, while staging systems, such as the BCLC scheme and the recent CNLC classification, have been created by experts according to recent HCC prognostic evidences from the literature. A third category includes combined prognostic systems that can be used both as prognostic scores and staging systems. A recent example is the ITA.LI.CA prognostic system including either a prognostic score and a simplified staging system. This review focuses first on an overview of the main prognostic systems for HCC classified according to the above three categories, and, second, on a comprehensive description of the methodology required for a correct comparison between different systems in terms of prognostic performance. In this second section the main studies in the literature comparing different prognostic systems are described in detail. Lastly, a formal comparison between the last prognostic systems proposed for each of the above three categories is performed using a large Italian database including 6882 HCC patients in order to concretely apply the comparison rules previously described.

Efficacy of bevacizumab combined with erlotinib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: a single-arm meta-analysis based on prospective studies

BACKGROUND

The efficacy of bevacizumab combined with erlotinib (B + E) for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, especially for sorafenib-refractory patients, has been observed and evaluated in several trials. We conducted this single arm meta-analysis to generally assess the benefit and risk with B + E for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

METHODS

The PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, ScienceDirect, Web of Science and Scopus databases were searched for related studies. The main outcomes were objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and adverse effects (AEs).

RESULTS

Eight phase II clinical trials including 342 hepatocellular carcinoma patients were analyzed. The pooled ORR was 12.6% (95% CI: 6.3-19.0%), and the pooled DCR was 54.5% (95% CI: 48.9-66.8%). The 16-week PFS rate was 50.2% (95% CI: 38.2-62.2%). The 6- and 12-month OS rates were 77.8% (95% CI: 71.3-84.2%) and 44.9% (95% CI: 36.8-53.0%). The main grade 3-4 AEs were fatigue (11.9%), diarrhea (9.0%), hypertension (6.7%), acne (5.8%) and hemorrhage (5.3%). The only RCT showed that the B + E regimen had a consistent response and equable median OS but fewer toxicities (grade 3-4 AEs: 19% vs. 27%) than sorafenib. Subgroup analysis showed that as a second-line treatment, the B + E regimen had substantial value with a favorable PFS-16w (P = 0.012), OS-12 m (P = 0.048) and a favorable tendency of ORR (P = 0.089), but obvious toxicities in the second-line setting could not be neglected.

CONCLUSION

Bevacizumab combined with erlotinib is effective for treating hepatocellular carcinoma patients, especially sorafenib-refractory patients. More well-designed and large-scale RCTs are warranted to prove our findings.

A Randomized Phase II Open-Label Multi-Institution Study of the Combination of Bevacizumab and Erlotinib Compared to Sorafenib in the First-Line Treatment of Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the clinical efficacy and tolerability of the combination of bevacizumab (B) and erlotinib (E) compared to sorafenib (S) as first-line treatment for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

A total of 90 patients with advanced HCC, Child-Pugh class A-B7 cirrhosis, and no prior systemic therapy were randomly assigned (1: 1) to receive either 10 mg/kg B intravenously every 14 days and 150 mg E orally daily (n = 47) (B+E) or 400 mg S orally twice daily (n = 43). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included event-free survival (EFS), objective response rate based on Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST 1.1), time to progression, and safety and tolerability.

RESULTS

The median OS was 8.55 months (95% CI: 7.00-13.9) for patients treated with B+E and 8.55 months (95% CI: 5.69-12.2) for patients receiving S. The hazard ratio (HR) for OS was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.57-1.47). The median EFS was 4.37 months (95% CI: 2.99-7.36) for patients receiving B+E and 2.76 months (95% CI: 1.84-4.80) for patients receiving S. The HR for EFS was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.42-1.07; p = 0.09), favoring B+E over S. When OS was assessed among patients who were Child-Pugh class A, the median OS was 11.4 months (95% CI: 7.5-15.7) for patients treated with B+E (n = 39) and 10.26 months (95% CI: 5.9-13.0) for patients treated with S (n = 38) (HR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.53-1.46).

CONCLUSIONS

There was no difference in efficacy between the B+E and S arms, although the safety and tolerability profile tended to favor B+E over S based on competing risk analysis.

A model to estimate survival in ambulatory patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: Can it predict the natural course of hepatocellular carcinoma?

BACKGROUND

Several hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) staging systems are available including the newly developed staging system, the Model to Estimate Survival in Ambulatory HCC patients (MESIAH); however, whether these staging systems could predict the natural course of HCC is largely unknown.

METHODS

1013 patients with history of HCC treatment and 111 patients without any history of treatment till death or last follow-up at a single tertiary hospital were included.

RESULTS

The MESIAH score showed a better discrimination ability, with a C-statistic of 0.835 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.810-0.861] in the group of treated patients compared to the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system [0.739 (95% CI, 0.709-0.769)] before propensity score matching. However, the MESIAH score failed to stratify patients according to their risk of death in the group of untreated patients unlike the BCLC staging system. Propensity score matching analysis confirmed that the MESIAH score was most strongly influenced by whether treatment was given or not.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the MESIAH score provided better prognostic stratification than other staging systems in treated HCC patients, it was not helpful in predicting the natural course of HCC. Since the treatment affects patient outcome and prognosis, it is necessary to develop a new staging system that can also reflect the natural course of HCC.

Prognostic value of the albumin-bilirubin grade in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: Validation in a Chinese cohort

AIM

The prognostic value of the newly raised objective liver function assessment tool, the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma has not been fully validated. We aimed to compare the performance of ALBI grade with the specific Child-Pugh (C-P) score in predicting prognosis in this study.

METHODS

The clinical data of 491 C-P class A patients who underwent liver resection as initial therapy from January 2000 to December 2007 in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (Beijing, China) were retrospectively analyzed. The prognostic performances of ALBI and C-P score in predicting the short- and long-term clinical outcomes were compared.

RESULTS

The ALBI score gained a significantly larger area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting the occurrence of severe postoperative complications than that of C-P score. With a median follow-up of 57 months, the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year overall survival rates of the patients were 92.1%, 65.8%, and 45.2%, respectively. Tumor number, tumor size, and ALBI grade were proved to be the independent prognostic factors for overall survival in the multivariate analysis. Prognostic performance was shown to be better for ALBI grade when it was compared to C-P score in terms of both the Akaike information criterion value and χ² value of likelihood ratio test.

CONCLUSIONS

The ALBI grade, which was featured by simplicity and objectivity, gained a superior prognostic value than that of C-P grade in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver resection. Future well-designed studies with larger sample sizes are warranted.

Incorporating albumin-bilirubin grade into the cancer of the liver Italian program system for hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade is a recently emerging alternative of the Child-Pugh (CP) grade. The Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) was demonstrated to be a useful prognostic model for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in large prospective cohorts. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of substituting the CP grade by the ALBI grade in the CLIP system and compare the prognostic performance with other existing staging systems.

METHODS

A large cohort of 1973 Chinese patients with HCC was recruited to evaluate the prognostic performance of CP-based CLIP (CP-CLIP) and ALBI-based CLIP (ALBI-CLIP) systems and nine other staging systems by homogeneity likelihood chi-square, c-index, and corrected Akaike information criterion.

RESULTS

The ALBI-CLIP system provided comparable prognostic performance than the CP-CLIP system, which was indicated by homogeneity likelihood chi-squares (ALBI-CLIP 1186.35 vs CP-CLIP 1145.54), c-indices (ALBI-CLIP 0.789 vs CP-CLIP 0.785) and AICs (ALBI-CLIP 15 493.47 vs CP-CLIP 15 534.28). Among 11 staging systems, ALBI-CLIP and CP-CLIP systems were associated with the highest homogeneity chi-squares and c-indices, and the lowest corrected Akaike information criterion. Patients in ALBI-CLIP score 0-4 had better median survival than those in corresponding CP-CLIP score.

CONCLUSIONS

The ALBI grade performs as well as the CP grade when integrating into the CLIP system. ALBI-CLIP and CP-CLIP systems are the most accurate prognostic models among 11 existing staging systems.

Which system is better to predict prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization as initial therapy? Comparison between CLIP and JIS in a Japanese population

Background There has been no consensus as to which system, either the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) or the Japan Integrated Staging (JIS) system, is suitable to predict the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who underwent transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) as initial therapy. Purpose To retrospectively compare the usefulness of CLIP and JIS in predicting and stratifying the prognosis of HCC patients treated by TACE. Material and Methods Between 1995 and 2005, consecutive 728 patients with untreated HCC who underwent TACE in our institute were selected for this study. The survival rate and its prognostic factors were assessed by multivariate analysis. Patients were stratified according to the two systems, and their survival rates between the scores were compared. Results The mean follow-up period was 1689 days. The 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year survival rates were 83.1%, 55.1%, 34.7%, and 12.8%, respectively. Both systems stratified the prognosis of patients well, but was slightly better in CLIP as compared to in JIS. As for multivariate factor analysis, less severe Child-Pugh classification ( P < 0.001), simple tumor morphology ( P < 0.001), absence of portal vein invasion ( P < 0.001), and lower alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level ( P < 0.001) were suggested to be independent indicators for favorable survival rate. All of these independent factors were included in CLIP, whereas JIS lacked AFP level. Furthermore, the likelihood χ²-test value was higher, and the Akaike information criterion value was lower for CLIP than for JIS. Conclusion CLIP is more suitable than JIS for predicting prognosis of patients with HCC who would undergo TACE in a Japanese population.

An accurate prognostic staging system for hepatocellular carcinoma patients after curative hepatectomy

The aim of this study was to develop an accurate predictive system for prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after hepatectomy. We pooled data of clinicopathological features of 234 HCC patients who underwent curative hepatectomy. On the basis of the pooled data, we established a simple predictive staging system (PS score) scored by the mathematical product of tumor number and size, and degree of liver function. We compared the prognostic abilities of the PS score (score 0-3) with those of six well-known clinical staging systems. Then, we found that there were significant differences (P<0.05) in both disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) between patients with different PS scores (PS score 0 vs. 1; PS score 1 vs. 2), and there was a significant difference in DFS, but not OS, between patients with PS score 2 and those with PS score 3. Moreover, the PS score had smaller values of the Akaike information criterion for both DFS and OS than any of the six well-known clinical staging systems. These results suggest that the PS score serves as a simple, accurate predictor for the prognosis of HCC patients after hepatectomy.

Validation of three staging systems for hepatocellular carcinoma (JIS score, biomarker-combined JIS score and BCLC system) in 4,649 cases from a Japanese nationwide survey

OBJECTIVE

Clinical staging is very important for optimal therapeutic strategy and prognostic prediction in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system is the most widely used and best-validated method for HCC. Similarly, the conventional Japan Integrated Staging (c-JIS) score and the biomarker-combined JIS (bm-JIS) score have also been reported to effectively stratify HCC patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of these three staging systems for prognostic prediction.

METHODS

A total of 4,649 HCC patients were included in this study. A multivariate analysis identified the independent risk factors associated with overall survival. The stratification ability and the suitability as a prognostic model of the three staging systems were compared.

RESULTS

Multivariate analysis revealed that male sex, higher Child-Pugh score, tumor size >2.0 cm, multiple tumors, vascular invasion, higher alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level, higher des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin level, higher Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive AFP level, and a performance status of 3-4 were independent risk factors in HCC. The independent homogenizing ability and stratification value of the bm-JIS score were higher than those of the c-JIS score and the BCLC system (χ(2) = 972.7581, 758.1041 and 679.6832, respectively). Moreover, the bm-JIS score had the lowest Akaike Information Criteria value, followed by the c-JIS score and the BCLC system (9,844.278, 10,054.93 and 10,131.35, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the bm-JIS score offers good stratification ability and is a better prognostic predictor than the c-JIS score and the BCLC system.

Potent efficacy signals from systemically administered oncolytic herpes simplex virus (HSV1716) in hepatocellular carcinoma xenograft models

Oncolytic herpes simplex virus (HSV1716), lacking the neurovirulence factor ICP34.5, has highly selective replication competence for cancer cells and has been used in clinical studies of glioma, melanoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, pediatric non-central nervous system solid tumors, and malignant pleural mesothelioma. To date, 88 patients have received HSV1716 and the virus is well tolerated, with selective replication in tumor cells and no spread to surrounding normal tissue. We assessed the potential value of HSV1716 in preclinical studies with two human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, HuH7 and HepG2-luc. HSV1716 displayed excellent replication kinetics in vitro in HepG2-luc cells, a cell line engineered to express luciferase, and virus-mediated cell killing correlated with loss of light emissions from the cells. In vivo, the HepG2-luc cells readily formed light-emitting xenografts that were easily visualized by an in vivo imaging system and efficiently eliminated by HSV1716 oncolysis after intratumoral injection. HSV1716 also demonstrated strong efficacy signals in subcutaneous HuH7 xenografts in nude mice after intravenous administration of virus. In the HuH7 model, the intravenously injected virus replicated prolifically immediately after efficient tumor localization, resulting in highly significant reductions in tumor growth and enhanced survival. Our preclinical results demonstrate excellent tumor uptake of HSV1716, with prolific replication and potent oncolysis. These observations warrant a clinical study of HSV1716 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Validation of a model to estimate survival in ambulatory patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a single-centre cohort study

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is determined by hepatic function and tumour extent. Recently, a new Model to Estimate Survival in Ambulatory HCC patients (MESIAH) was proposed to predict overall survival in ambulatory HCC patients. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic performance of the MESIAH score in an independent cohort of HCC patients.

METHODS

A cohort of 1969 patients newly diagnosed with HCC at the National Cancer Center, Korea between January 2004 and December 2009 was used for validation of the MESIAH score. The model's performance was assessed using C-statistics, the likelihood ratio (LR) χ2 value and Akaike information criterion (AIC).

RESULTS

Patients in the cohort had a median age of 56 years and 83.2% were men. Hepatitis B virus infection was present in 74.6 and 81.6% had a Child-Pugh class A. The median overall survival was 21.4 months. The MESIAH score had a higher degree of discrimination, with a C-statistic of 0.792 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.782-0.803], when compared with the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system [0.665 (95% CI, 0.653-0.678), P<0.001]. The LR χ2 value and the AIC of MESIAH were also better than those of BCLC, Cancer of the Liver Italian Program, Japan Integrated Scoring and Tokyo score. The observed survival in the cohort closely matched that predicted by the MESIAH score.

CONCLUSIONS

The new prognostication model MESIAH accurately estimated the overall survival of Korean HCC patients and may be useful in future research as well as individual patient care.

Prognosis of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison of seven staging systems (TNM, Okuda, BCLC, CLIP, CUPI, JIS, CIS) in a Chinese cohort

BACKGROUND

Many liver staging systems that include the tumor stage and the extent of liver function have been developed. However, prognosis assessment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial. In this study, the performances of 7 staging systems were compared in a cohort of patients with HCC who underwent non-surgical treatment.

METHODS

A total of 196 consecutive patients with HCC who underwent non-surgical treatment seen between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2007, were included. Performances of TNM sixth edition, Okuda, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC), Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP), Chinese University Prognostic Index (CUPI), Japan Integrated Staging (JIS), and China integrated score (CIS) have been compared and ranked using concordance index (c-index). Predictors of survival were identified using univariate and multivariate Cox model analyses.

RESULTS

The median survival time for the cohort was 7.6 months (95% CI 5.6-9.7). The independent predictors of survival were performance status (P<.001), serum sodium (P<.001), alkaline phosphatase (P<.001), tumor diameter greater than 5 cm (P = .001), portal vein invasion (P<.001), lymph node metastasis (P = .025), and distant metastasis (P = .004). CUPI staging system had the best independent predictive power for survival when compared with the other six prognostic systems. Performance status and serum sodium improved the discriminatory ability of CUPI.

CONCLUSION

In our selected patient population whose main etiology is hepatitis B, CUPI was the most suitable staging system in predicting survival in patients with unresectable HCC. BCLC was the second top-ranking staging system. CLIP, JIS, CIS, and TNM sixth edition were not helpful in predicting survival outcome, and their use is not supported by our data.

Comparing staging systems for predicting prognosis and survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in Egypt

Introduction

Several hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) staging systems are available. Although the European Association for Study of Liver Diseases (EASL) and American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) recommended the use of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC), many studies in different populations revealed heterogeneous results. The aim of this study was to compare different staging systems for predicting prognosis and survival, and for stratifying HCC patients for treatment at a national referral centre for liver disease in Egypt.

Methods

2000 Patients were included in this study. Baseline demographic, clinical, laboratory, and radiological data were determined at diagnosis. Patients were stratified using the Okuda, BCLC, Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP), and Japan Integrated Staging (JIS). Patients’ survival in different stages within each staging system and the validity of the system in predicting survival were compared.

Results

The overall survival was 15 months. The 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-year survival of the entire cohort was 56%, 34%, 25% and 15% respectively. The presence of ascites, multiple focal lesions, large tumour size >5 cm, portal vein thrombosis, extra-hepatic spread, AFP≥200 ng/ml and poor Child score were independent predictors of survival (p<0.001). All staging systems were significant in determining overall survival in univariate and multivariate analyses. BCLC was the most predictive staging system for the whole cohort (p<0.001). Among the subgroup of patients offered potentially curative therapy, BCLC was the most informative system in predicting patient survival (p<0.001). For patients with advanced HCC not amenable for specific therapy, CLIP was the best staging system for predicting prognosis (p<0.001).

Conclusion

BCLC staging system provided the best prognostic stratification for HCC patients. However, CLIP score has the highest stratification ability in patients with advanced HCC highlighting the importance of including AFP in best staging system.

The significance of classifying microvascular invasion in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Microvascular invasion (MVI) has been recognized as a risk factor for outcome following curative resection in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Because MVI can range from few to many invaded vessels, we evaluated the significance of MVI classification in this study.

METHODS

Between January 1995 and December 2010, 207 consecutive patients who underwent curative resection for HCC within Milan criteria were included in this retrospective study. Patients were classified into mild and severe MVI groups based on the number of vessels invaded. This study evaluated whether MVI classification can help to predict recurrence and survival after curative resection.

RESULTS

Of the total 207 patients, 103 (50 %) patients had no detectable MVI, whereas 59 (28 %) had mild MVI, and 45 (22 %) had severe MVI. Recurrence-free survival rates at 2 years for patients without MVI, with mild MVI, and severe MVI were 75.9, 47.2, and 32.7 %, respectively. Patients with severe MVI experienced a high frequency of fatal recurrence, such as multiple tumors, macroscopic vascular invasion, and extrahepatic metastasis after curative resection. Multivariate analysis revealed age, number of tumors, mild MVI, and severe MVI as independent predictors of recurrence-free survival. Disease-specific survival rates at 5 years for patients without MVI, with mild MVI, and severe MVI were 91.5, 70.4, and 51.4, respectively. Multivariate analysis also revealed cirrhosis, tumor size, mild MVI, and severe MVI as independent predictors of disease-specific survival.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated that MVI classification can stratify HCC patients by different patterns of recurrence and risk of survival after curative resection.

Hepatocellular carcinoma in uremic patients: is there evidence for an increased risk of mortality?

BACKGROUND AND AIM

The clinical aspects of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing maintenance dialysis are largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the long-term survival and prognostic determinants of dialysis patients with HCC.

METHODS

A total of 2502 HCC patients, including 30 dialysis patients and 90 age, sex, and treatment-matched controls were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

Dialysis patients more often had dual viral hepatitis B and C, lower serum α-fetoprotein level, worse performance status, higher model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score than non-dialysis patients and matched controls (P all < 0.05). There was no significant difference in long-term survival between dialysis and non-dialysis patients and matched controls (P = 0.684 and 0.373, respectively). In the Cox proportional hazards model, duration of dialysis < 40 months (hazard ratio [HR]: 6.67, P = 0.019) and ascites (HR: 5.275, P = 0.019) were independent predictors of poor prognosis for dialysis patients with HCC. Survival analysis disclosed that the Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) provided a better prognostic ability than the MELD system. Among the four currently used staging systems, the Japan Integrated Scoring (JIS) system was a more accurate prognostic model for dialysis patients; a JIS score ≥ 2 significantly predicted a worse survival (P = 0.024).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with HCC undergoing maintenance dialysis do not have a worse long-term survival. A longer duration of dialysis and absence of ascites formation are associated with a better outcome in dialysis patients. The CTP classification is a more feasible prognostic marker to indicate the severity of cirrhosis, and the JIS system may be a better staging model for outcome prediction.

MicroRNA-29a-5p is a novel predictor for early recurrence of hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma after surgical resection

It is still difficult to predict the probability of tumor recurrence after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we set out to identify specific microRNA (miRNA) in microdissected hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC tissue from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples which might be used in predicting early recurrence after HCC resection. Taqman low density arrays were used to detect the 667 miRNA profiles in both the microdissected tumorous and adjacent non-tumorous liver tissues from 20 HCC patients (discovery set) including 10 patients with early tumor recurrence and 10 without early tumor recurrence and to identify the differentially expressed miRNAs related to HCC recurrence. Then quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to verify the findings in 106 patients (training set), and to develop a predictive assay. The identified miRNAs were further validated in an independent cohort of 112 patients (validation set). Thirty seven miRNAs were identified from 20 HCC patients and validated in 106 HCC patients using qRT-PCR. A significant association was found between miR-29a-5p level in HCC tissues and early tumor recurrence (P = 0.0002). This association was further confirmed in the independent validation set of 112 patients (P = 0.0154). MiR-29a-5p level was significantly associated with both time to tumor recurrence (TTR) (P = 0.0015) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.0079) in validation set. In the multivariate analyses, miR-29a-5p was identified as an independent factor for TTR, particularly for those patients with early stage of HCC. The sensitivity and specificity of miR-29a-5p for the prediction of early HCC recurrence of BCLC 0/A stage HCC were 74.2% and 68.2%, respectively. These suggest that miR-29a-5p might be a useful marker for the prediction of early tumor recurrence after HCC resection, especially in BCLC 0/A stage HCCs.

Prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Validation and ranking of established staging-systems in a large western HCC-cohort

Background

HCC is diagnosed in approximately half a million people per year, worldwide. Staging is a more complex issue than in most other cancer entities and, mainly due to unique geographic characteristics of the disease, no universally accepted staging system exists to date. Focusing on survival rates we analyzed demographic, etiological, clinical, laboratory and tumor characteristics of HCC-patients in our institution and applied the common staging systems. Furthermore we aimed at identifying the most suitable of the current staging systems for predicting survival.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Overall, 405 patients with HCC were identified from an electronic medical record database. The following seven staging systems were applied and ranked according to their ability to predict survival by using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the concordance-index (c-index): BCLC, CLIP, GETCH, JIS, Okuda, TNM and Child-Pugh. Separately, every single variable of each staging system was tested for prognostic meaning in uni- and multivariate analysis. Alcoholic cirrhosis (44.4%) was the leading etiological factor followed by viral hepatitis C (18.8%). Median survival was 18.1 months (95%-CI: 15.2–22.2). Ascites, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, AFP, number of tumor nodes and the BCLC tumor extension remained independent prognostic factors in multivariate analysis. Overall, all of the tested staging systems showed a reasonable discriminatory ability. CLIP (closely followed by JIS) was the top-ranked score in terms of prognostic capability with the best values of the AIC and c-index (AIC 2286, c-index 0.71), surpassing other established staging systems like BCLC (AIC 2343, c-index 0.66). The unidimensional scores TNM (AIC 2342, c-index 0.64) and Child-Pugh (AIC 2369, c-index 0.63) performed in an inferior fashion.

Conclusions/Significance

Compared with six other staging systems, the CLIP-score was identified as the most suitable staging system for predicting prognosis in a large German cohort of predominantly non-surgical HCC-patients.

Prognosis predictability of hepatocellular carcinoma according to staging systems in hepatitis B virus-endemic area

BACKGROUND

There is no worldwide consensus on clinical application of staging systems that have been proposed for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study evaluated the predictors of survival and compared the prognosis predictability according to staging systems of HCC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We analyzed the medical records of 142 patients who were consecutively diagnosed as HCC in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-endemic area. To analyze the survival predictors and probability of staging systems, Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard model were used. And to compare the discriminatory ability and predictive power of staging systems for prognosis and survival, likelyhood ratio χ(2) test and Akaike information criterion were applied.

RESULTS

Overall median survival of HCC patients was 24 months and 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rate was 61.3, 49.4, and 45.7%, respectively. Child-Pugh classification (P=0.038) and portal vein thrombosis (PVT) (P=0.022) were ascertained as independent predictors of survival. Although all the staging systems showed a progressive decrease in survival as the tumor stage progressively advanced, the Japan Integrated Staging (JIS) and Chinese University Prognostic Index (CUPI) showed the highest homogeneity (small differences in survival among patients in the same stages), and the best monotonicity of gradient (the survival of patients in earlier stages is longer than the survival of patients in more advanced stages within the same system), respectively.

CONCLUSION

In HBV-endemic area, Child-Pugh classification and PVT were independent predictors for survival, and JIS and CUPI were the most powerful staging systems to predict the prognosis of HCC.

Evidence That Naturopathic Therapy Including Cordyceps sinensis Prolongs Survival of Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hypothesis. Naturopathic treatment will benefit patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Study design. Retrospective analysis of case series of HCC patients treated with naturopathic agents. Methods. HCC was diagnosed by dynamic computed tomography (CT) imaging and α-fetoprotein (AFP) or PIVKA II, or by histology. Tumor staging was determined by CT. A modified Childs–Pugh scoring was used to assess liver disease. Patients were treated with orally administered combinations of 12 naturopathic agents. Patients were monitored clinically and by CT tumor imaging, serial tumor markers, and liver function tests. Results. Patient characteristics: 101 patients with HCC (67 men and 34 women, age 67.2 ± 8.8 years) were treated for a median of 13.4 months (range 0.8-100.8). Of these 84% had cirrhosis, 63% had hepatitis C virus, 18% had hepatitis B virus, 1% had both, and 9% had metastatic disease. Median modified Childs–Pugh score was 6 (range 3-13). Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer tumor stages of 0, A, B, C, and D were found in 36%, 25%, 20%, 14%, and 6%, respectively. Median AFP was 40 (range 0-311,000). Median PIVKA II was 59 (0–378,000). Previous treatment was included none (27%), resection with relapse (20%), transarterial chemoembolization (50%), radiofrequency ablation (28%), percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (15%), chemotherapy (14%). Outcomes: Initial treatment was with 2.6 ± 0.8 agents (range 2-4). Overall, patients were treated with 3.7 ± 1.2 agents (range 2-7). There was a significant correlation between number of agents administered and survival ( P < .0001). Patients treated with ≥4 agents survived significantly longer than patients treated with ≤3 agents (40.2 vs 6.4 months, P < .0001). This difference could not be attributed to statistically significant differences in severity of liver disease or tumor stage, delay in treatment, previous treatment, concurrent nondrug treatment, or censoring effects. The greatest effect was seen in patients treated with at least 4 agents that included Cordyceps sinensis. This prolonged survival was without toxic side effects and appeared to potentiate the survival benefit of conventional therapy. Conclusion. Treatment of HCC with a regimen of ≥4 agents prepared from natural products was associated with prolonged survival in a substantial portion of patients. The data provide level II evidence for the efficacy of naturopathic therapy in HCC.

Liver Transplantation for HCC: A Review

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) often occurs in patients with chronic liver disease or cirrhosis. Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma has the potential to eliminate both the tumor as well as the underlying cirrhosis and is the ideal treatment for HCC in cirrhotic liver as well as massive HCC in noncirrhotic liver. Limitations in organ availability, necessitate stringent selection of patients who would likely to derive most benefit. Selection criteria have considered tumor size, number, volume as well as biological features. The Milan criteria set the benchmark for tumors that would benefit from liver transplantation but were found to be excessively restrictive. Modest expansion in criteria has also been shown to be associated with equivalent survival. Microvascular invasion is the single most important adverse prognostic factor for survival. Living donor liver transplantation has expanded donor options and has the advantage of lower waiting period and not impacting the non-HCC waiting list. Acceptable outcomes have been obtained with living donor liver transplantation for larger and more numerous tumors in the absence of microvascular invasion. Downstaging of tumors to prevent progression while waiting for an organ or for reduction in size to allow enrolment for transplantation has met with variable success.

Stage of hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with periodontitis

AIM

Periodontitis induces overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This state increases circulating ROS levels and may affect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Japan Integrated Stage (JIS) score is a novel staging system for HCC. The objective of the present study was to compare JIS scores in HCC patients with and without periodontitis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We recruited 64 HCC patients comprising 31 chronic periodontitis subjects (HCC + P) and 33 periodontally healthy controls (HCC + H). Their JIS scores were recorded. Serum levels of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM) from HCC + P, HCC + H and healthy age- and gender-matched subjects with healthy gingiva (control, n = 15) were also assessed for circulating ROS levels.

RESULTS

The HCC + P and HCC + H groups had similar body mass index, habitual drinking and tobacco exposure data. The HCC + P group showed higher JIS scores than the HCC + H group (p = 0.027). Both the HCC + P and HCC + H groups had higher serum levels of ROM than controls (p < 0.001), while serum levels of ROM in the HCC + P group were a further 25.8% higher than those in the HCC + H group (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

HCC patients with periodontitis had higher JIS score and circulating ROS level than HCC patients without periodontitis.

Underweight patients show an increased rate of postoperative death after surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the influence of body mass index (BMI) on postoperative death in patients undergoing surgery for HCC.

METHODS

Three hundred forty-two patients were enrolled, and divided into three groups: Group A, BMI <22.5; Group B, BMI ≥22.5 to <25; Group C, BMI ≥25. Univariate and multivariate analyses of postoperative death were performed to compare BMI with clinical factors. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log rank test were used to compare such outcome in Groups A, B, and C.

RESULTS

Kaplan-Meier analysis and log rank test revealed that Group A had a higher rate of postoperative death than Group B or C (P = 0.010). Univariate and multivariate analyses selected being underweight (Group B, C/Group A) (odds ratio, 1.829; 95% C.I., 1.091-3.068; P = 0.022) as one of the factors predictive of postoperative death, together with aspartate aminotransferase level (P = 0.042) and HCC growth pattern (P = 0.032).

CONCLUSIONS

BMI is a simple but important predictor of postoperative death in patients undergoing surgery for HCC, and is able to classify such patients into three independent groups.

Comparison of staging systems of hepatocellular carcinoma

Many staging systems of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were established; however, there is no consensus on which is proper in predicting prognosis. This study aims to evaluate various commonly used staging systems of HCC. Patients who underwent surgery during 2001-2007 were included. All patient data were retrospectively staged using six staging systems, that are American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Tumour-Node-Metastasis (TNM), Okuda staging, Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP), Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC), Chinese University Prognostic Index (CUPI), and Japan Integrated Staging (JIS). Child-Pugh classification was also evaluated. The staging systems were compared by mean of overall and disease-free survival. Total of 99 patient data were enrolled in the analyses. All staging systems except Okuda were significant in determining overall survival in univariate analyses. In multivariate analyses, TNM and Child-Pugh demonstrated better predictive power for overall survival. In terms of disease-free survival, univariate analyses revealed that TNM, CLIP, BCLC, CUPI, and JIS were significant, and TNM was the best predictive staging system in multivariate analyses. In our study, TNM and Child-Pugh are the representative systems in predicting survival of HCC patients who undergo surgical resection. Moreover, they are practical and easily assessable in clinical practice.

Transcatheter chemoembolization for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma and comparison of five staging systems

AIM

We compared the ability of five staging system to predict survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with chemoembolization.

METHODS

The study subjects were 214 patients with HCC treated with repeated chemoembolization alone using cisplatin and lipiodol. Predictors of survival were assessed by multivariate analysis. Before chemoembolization was carried out, the modified Japan Integrated Staging (m-JIS), Japan Integrated Staging (JIS score), Barcelona (BCLC) stage, Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan/Tumor-Node-Metastasis (LCSGJ/TNM) and Italian score (CLIP score) were checked. To validate the prognostic value of these staging systems, the survival curve was obtained and analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Discriminatory ability and predictive power were compared using Akaike's information criterion (AIC) score and the likelihood ratio (LR) χ(2) .

RESULTS

 Overall survival was 1 year in 82.9%, 3 years in 39.9% and 5 years in 15.1%. Multivariate analysis identified more than 90% lipiodol accumulation (grade I) after the first chemoembolization (P = 0.001), absence of portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) (P < 0.001) and liver damage A (P = 0.012) as independent determinants of survival. AIC score and the LR χ(2) showed superior predictive power of the m-JIS system in 95 patients with grade I accumulation of lipiodol after first chemoembolization.

CONCLUSION

The discriminate ability of the m-JIS score is substantially better than those of other staging systems and has better prognostic predictive power in patients with grade I accumulation of lipiodol after first chemoembolization.

Selecting an optimal staging system for hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison of 5 currently used prognostic models

BACKGROUND

Selecting an appropriate staging system is crucial to predict the outcome of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The optimal prognostic model for HCC is under intense debate. This study investigated the prognostic ability of the 5 currently used staging systems, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC), Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP), Japan Integrated Scoring (JIS) system, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM), and Tokyo score, for HCC.

METHODS

Between 2002 and 2008, 1713 prospectively enrolled HCC patients were compared for their long-term survival by using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) according to the staging or scoring methods of these 5 models.

RESULTS

The mean and median follow-up duration was 18 and 14 months, respectively. Among all patients, the CLIP staging system had the lowest AIC value in comparison with other systems in the Cox proportional hazards model, followed by the Tokyo score, JIS score, BCLC staging system, and TNM staging system. Patients undergoing curative treatment had a significantly better survival in comparison with patients undergoing noncurative treatment (P < .001). When the predictive accuracy of the staging systems was analyzed according to treatment strategy, the CLIP staging system had the lowest AIC value and remained the best prognostic model in patients undergoing curative (801 patients) and noncurative (912 patients) treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The CLIP staging system is the best long-term prognostic model for HCC in a cohort of patient with early to advanced stage of HCC. Its predictive accuracy is independent of the treatment strategy. Selecting an optimal staging system is helpful in improving the design of future clinical trials.

Selecting a short-term prognostic model for hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison between the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD), MELD-sodium, and five cancer staging systems

BACKGROUND

The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) and MELD-sodium (MELD-Na) are prognostic models for cirrhotic patients with or without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study compared the predictive accuracy between the MELD, MELD-Na, TNM (tumor, node, metastasis), Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP), Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC), Japan Integrated Scoring (JIS), and Tokyo score for 3-month and 6-month mortality in HCC patients.

METHODS

A total of 953 patients were prospectively enrolled. The predictive accuracy was compared between different models using the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).

RESULTS

The CLIP system had the highest AUC (0.875) for predicting 3-month mortality, followed by the Tokyo score (0.874), JIS (0.868), BCLC (0.855), MELD-Na (0.829), MELD (0.803), and finally, TNM (0.795) system. At 6 months, the top 3 models and their AUCs were the CLIP (0.882), Tokyo (0.861), and JIS (0.85). MELD-Na consistently had significantly better predictive accuracy than the MELD at 3 and 6 months. The MELD and MELD-Na were better prognostic models in predicting the mortality for surgical patients (AUC, 0.719 to 0.740), whereas the CLIP and Tokyo systems were the 2 better models in staging nonsurgical (AUC, 0.849 to 0.884) and high-risk patients (AUC, 0.790 to 0.846), defined as having at least 2 independent risk factors of mortality, at 3 and 6 months.

CONCLUSIONS

The MELD-Na may improve the prognostic ability of the MELD system for patients with HCC. Both the CLIP and Tokyo systems are better short-term prognostic models. These findings are helpful in designing future clinical trials for HCC.

Comparative performances of staging systems for early hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Several staging systems for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been proposed, but studies of their prognostic accuracy have yielded conflicting conclusions. Stratifying patients with early HCC is of particular interest because these patients may derive the greatest benefit from intervention, yet no studies have evaluated the comparative performances of staging systems in patients with early HCC.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was performed using data on 379 patients who underwent liver resection or liver transplantation for HCC at six major hepatobiliary centres in the USA and Europe. The staging systems evaluated were: the Okuda staging system, the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA) staging system, the Cancer of the Liver Italian Programme (CLIP) score, the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system, the Japanese Integrated Staging (JIS) score and the American Joint Committee on Cancer/International Union Against Cancer (AJCC/UICC) staging system, 6th edition. A recently proposed early HCC prognostic score was also evaluated. The discriminative abilities of the staging systems were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models and the bootstrap-corrected concordance index (c).

RESULTS

Overall survival of the cohort was 74% at 3 years and 52% at 5 years, with a median survival of 62 months. Most systems demonstrated poor discriminatory ability (P > 0.05 on Cox proportional hazards analysis, c approximately 0.5). However, the AJCC/UICC system clearly stratified patients (P < 0.001, c = 0.59), albeit only into two groups. The early HCC prognostic score also clearly stratified patients (P < 0.001, c = 0.60) and identified three distinct prognostic groups.

DISCUSSION

The early HCC prognostic score is superior to the AJCC/UICC staging system (6th edition) for predicting the survival of patients with early HCC after liver resection or liver transplantation. Other major HCC staging systems perform poorly in patients with early HCC.

A modified TNM-based Japan Integrated Score combined with AFP level may serve as a better staging system for early-stage predominant hepatocellular carcinoma patients

BACKGROUND

Combinations of Child-Pugh classification and Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan/Tumor-Node-Metastasis (LCSGJ/TNM) have been reported as Japan Integrated Staging (JIS). We previously modified the 6th AJCC/TNM to serve as a better staging system than the 5th and 6th AJCC/TNM.

AIMS

To develop a modified TNM-based JIS to predict the survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients more accurately.

METHODS

3764 HCC patients were enrolled from 1986 to 2002 (2882 patients from 1986 to 2000 and 882 patients from 2001 to 2002). We compared the performance of original JIS, modified TNM-based JIS, modified TNM-based JIS combined alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), BCLC, and CLIP. Lower Akaike information criteria (AIC) values indicated better discriminatory abilities.

RESULTS

AIC value was lowest in CLIP during all periods. However, during 2001-2002, when early-stage HCC patients were predominant, AIC value was lowest when modified TNM-based JIS combined AFP was used.

CONCLUSION

The CLIP system provided the best prognostic stratification in the present cohort of HCC patients who were mainly at late stages. However, early detection of HCCs has become more common in Taiwan in recent years, which has led to the predominance of early-stage HCC patients. Therefore, modified TNM-based JIS combined AFP may now be the most applicable system in recent years.

Prognostic indicators in hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review of 72 studies

BACKGROUND

Although there are many studies of the predictors of death in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), most combine patients with and without cirrhosis and many combine those with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis.

OBJECTIVE

To perform a systematic review of the literature evaluating the predictors of death in patients with cirrhosis and HCC and to evaluate whether the predictors differ between patients with compensated and decompensated cirrhosis.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

(i) publication in English, (ii) adult patients, (c) >80% of the patients had cirrhosis, (iv) follow-up >6 months and (v) multivariable analysis. Quality was based on the accepted quality criteria for prognostic studies.

RESULTS

Of the 1106 references obtained, 947 were excluded because they did not meet the inclusion criteria. A total of 23 968 patients were included in 72 studies (median, 177/study); 77% male, median age 64, 55% Child-Pugh class A. The most robust predictors of death were portal vein thrombosis, tumour size, alpha-foetoprotein and Child-Pugh class. Sensitivity analysis using only 15 'good' studies and 22 studies in which all patients had cirrhosis yielded the same variables. In the studies including mostly compensated or decompensated patients, the predictors were both liver and tumour related. However, these studies were few and the results were not robust.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review of 72 studies shows that the most robust predictors of death in patients with cirrhosis and HCC are tumour related and liver related. Future prognostic studies should include these predictors and should be performed in specific patient populations to determine whether specific prognostic indicators are more relevant at different stages of cirrhosis.

The treatment responses in cases of radiation therapy to portal vein thrombosis in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

PURPOSE

To review the response to radiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and determine the factors favoring its efficacy.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Patients with HCC and PVT referred for radiation therapy between 1997 and 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who had undergone treatment to primary HCC before radiation or had extrahepatic metastasis were excluded. A radiation dose of 60 Gy with 2 to 3Gy per fraction was prescribed. Clinical features before therapy were investigated, and the most significant imaging change after radiotherapy was regarded as the treatment response. Survival times were compared and the hazard ratios of independent variables were determined.

RESULTS

The treatment response rate of the 326 patients included in the study was 25.2% (n = 82). The median survival times were 13.3, 11.6, 9.0, 4.5, and 2.1 months for complete response, partial response, vascular transformation, no response, and the lost follow-up patients, respectively. Statistically significant differences in survival were not found among responder groups (p = 0.224-0.916) but were found between responders and nonresponders (p = 0.002). The most significant independent variables associated with survival (p < 0.001) were performance status and radiation dose. Minor independent factors were ascites, alfa-fetoprotein, albumin, and HBsAg (p = 0.009-0.038). In patients with favorable performance status, those with no more than one minor risk factor had a superior prognosis after radiation therapy (p = 0.013). This result was verified by a review of similar patients in 2006.

CONCLUSION

Radiation therapy is the treatment of choice for selected HCC patients with PVT.

Comparison of therapeutic effects between radiofrequency ablation and percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy for small hepatocellular carcinomas

BACKGROUND

Although thermal ablation therapies have gained fairly wide acceptance as an effective treatment for small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), there have been only a few clinical studies comparing the response to radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy (PMCT). We evaluated the therapeutic efficacy and safety of these two procedures for the treatment of small HCC measuring < or = 2 cm in diameter.

METHODS

Thirty-four patients who had 37 nodules were treated by RFA and were compared with 49 patients (56 nodules) who underwent PMCT. Treatment was repeated until complete tumor necrosis was confirmed by contrast computed tomography (CT) scanning. The therapeutic efficacy and complications were retrospectively compared between the two procedures.

RESULTS

(i) There were significantly fewer treatment sessions (P < 0.001) in the RFA group than in the PMCT group, but the necrotic area was significantly larger (P < 0.001) in the former group. (ii) The local recurrence rate was significantly lower (P = 0.031) after RFA than after PMCT, although the ectopic recurrence rate showed no significant difference. (iii) The cumulative survival rate was significantly higher (P = 0.018) after RFA than after PMCT. (iv) The incidence of pain and fever after treatment was significantly higher in the PMCT group. Bile duct injury, pleural effusion, and ascites were also significantly more common in the PMCT group.

CONCLUSIONS

RFA is more useful than PMCT for the treatment of small HCC because it is minimally invasive and achieves a low local recurrence rate, high survival rate, and extensive necrosis after only a few treatment sessions.

Early and very early hepatocellular carcinoma: when and how much do staging and choice of treatment really matter? A multi-center study

Background

A consensus on the most reliable staging system for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still lacking but the most used is a revised Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) system, adopted by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). We investigated how many patients are diagnosed in "very early" and "early" stage, follow the AASLD guidelines for treatment and whether their survival depends on treatment.

Methods

Data were collected in 530 "very early" and "early" HCC patients recruited by a multicentric Italian collaborative group (ITA.LI.CA). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate overall survival and the log rank to test the statistical significance of difference between groups. Cox's multivariate stepwise regression analysis was used to pinpoint independent prognostic factors and the adjusted relative risks (hazard ratios) were calculated as well. A statistical analysis based on the chi-square test was used to identify significant differences in clinical or pathological features between patients. A P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

"Very early" HCC were 3%; Cox multivariate analysis did not identify variables independently associated with survival. The patients following AASLD recommendations (20%) did not show longer survival. In "early" HCC patients (25%), treatment significantly modulated survival (p = 0.0001); the 28% patients treated according to the AASLD criteria survived longer (p = 0,004). The Cox analysis however identified only age, gender, number of lesions and Child class as independent predictors of survival.

Conclusion

patients with very early" HCC were very few in this analysis. In most instances they were not treated with the treatment suggested as the most appropriate by the AASLD guidelines and the type of treatment had no impact on survival, even though the number of patients was relatively low and part of the patients were diagnosed before the introduction of the guidelines: this analysis, therefore, might not be considered as conclusive and should be validated. The "early" stage group involved more patients, rarely treated according to the guidelines, both overall and also in those diagnosed after their publication; the survival was in part predicted by the type of treatment, with better results in those treated according to AASLD indications.

Applicability of staging systems for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma is dependent on treatment method--analysis of 2010 Taiwanese patients

The aim of this study was to compare six prognostic staging systems (Okuda stage, TNM stage, CLIP score, BCLC stage, JIS score and Tokyo score) in predicting survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 2010 Taiwanese HCC patients were included. Demographic, laboratory and tumour characteristics were determined at diagnosis. Predictors of survival included serum levels of albumin, total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, alpha-fetoprotein, ascites, tumour size and portal vein invasion. The Tokyo score was the most informative one for predicting the survival of HCC patients as a whole, receiving surgical resection, or receiving transarterial chemoembolisation. CLIP score was the best fit system for HCC patients receiving chemotherapy or supportive care. Each staging system showed a significant difference in predicting the probability of survival across different stages. The applicability of staging systems for patients with HCC was dependent on treatment methods.

The MELD-Na is an independent short- and long-term prognostic predictor for hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective survey

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Serum sodium has been suggested to incorporate into the model for end-stage liver disease to enhance its prognostic ability for cirrhosis. A mathematical equation based on model for end-stage liver disease and sodium, known as "MELD-Na", was developed for outcome prediction for cirrhosis. The severity of liver cirrhosis is a key component to predict survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. This study investigated the prognostic role of MELD-Na for hepatocellular carcinoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 535 unselected hepatocellular carcinoma patients were prospectively enrolled to evaluate the performance of MELD-Na.

RESULTS

The MELD-Na was better than model for end-stage liver disease in predicting 6-month mortality by comparing the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (0.782 vs. 0.761, p=0.101). MELD-Na, but not model for end-stage liver disease, was an independent predictor associated with 6-month mortality in multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio: 1.14, p=0.001). In the survival analysis, MELD-Na also independently predicted mortality, with an additional risk of 4.3% per unit increment of the score (p<0.001). Patients with MELD-Na scores between 10 and 20 and scores >20 had 2.1-fold (p<0.001) and 7.5-fold (p<0.001) risk of mortality, respectively, compared to patients with a score <10 in the Cox proportional hazard model.

CONCLUSION

The MELD-Na score is a feasible and independent prognostic predictor for both short- and long-term outcome predictions in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Comparative study of the Japan Integrated Stage (JIS) and modified JIS score as a predictor of survival after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the study was to compare the abilities of the JIS and modified JIS (m-JIS) scores to predict survival after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

Data for patients who underwent hepatectomy for HCC at Hiroshima University Hospital between 1986 and 2006 were included. The overall survival and disease-free survival were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences between groups were tested by the log-rank test. The statistics of the Akaike information criterion (AIC) were used to show the more appropriate model.

RESULTS

A total of 626 patients were included (male/female, 468/158; mean age, 63.4+/-9.6 years; Child-Pugh class A/B, 524/102; liver damage grade A/B/C, 356/261/9). Mean survival and disease-free survival were 8.04+/-0.39 and 4.69+/-0.32 years, respectively. There was a significant difference in the overall survival rate between JIS scores 1 and 2, and 2 and 3 (P<0.05), but not between scores 0 and 1, or 3 and 4 (P>0.05). Except between m-JIS scores 0 and 1, there was excellent discriminatory ability in overall survival rate between other consecutive groups. Concerning disease-free survival, a significant difference was found only between JIS scores 1 and 2. However, the disease-free survival rate could be well differentiated between m-JIS scores 1 and 2, and 3 and 4. The m-JIS score had a higher discriminatory ability, indicated by a linear trend analysis, and a higher homogeneity likelihood ratio, and lower AIC statistics, than the original JIS score in predicting both overall and disease-free survival.

CONCLUSIONS

The modified-JIS scoring system using liver damage grade is better than the original JIS scoring system in predicting survival after hepatectomy for HCC in Japan.

A new prognostic staging system for hepatocellular carcinoma: value of the biomarker combined Japan integrated staging score

OBJECTIVES

The Japan Integrated Staging (JIS) score has been reported to have good stratification ability in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the JIS score could not estimate malignant grade of HCC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a new staging system: the biomarker combined JIS (bm-JIS) which includes three tumor markers: alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive AFP and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin with the conventional JIS score.

METHODS

A total of 1,924 HCC patients were included in this study. We compared their overall survival, the stratification ability and suitability as a prognostic model according to the bm-JIS score and the conventional JIS score.

RESULTS

There were significant differences between the survival curves for all bm-JIS scores. For the conventional JIS scores of 0, 1, 2 and 3, the survival curves differed greatly according to the bm-JIS score (p < 0.0001). The independent homogenizing ability and the stratification value of the JIS score and the bm-JIS score determined by the likelihood ratio test using the Cox proportional hazard regression model showed the bm-JIS score to have a higher value(chi2 = 717.348) than the JIS score (chi2 = 668.91).

CONCLUSIONS

The bm-JIS score showed superior stratification ability and thus was found to be a better predictor of the prognosis than the conventional JIS score, especially for the patients with good prognosis.

Comparison of three current staging systems for hepatocellular carcinoma: Japan integrated staging score, new Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging classification, and Tokyo score

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Although various staging systems for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been developed in recent years, there is no worldwide consensus which staging system is best. The aim of the present study was to compare the performance of the currently developed three staging systems: the Japan integrated staging (JIS) score, new Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging classification, and the Tokyo score.

METHODS

A total of 290 consecutive patients with HCC before initial treatment at Kinki University between January 1999 and December 2001 were included. The patients were stratified according to the three staging systems, and the performance of the staging systems was compared using survival time as the only outcome measure.

RESULTS

There were significant differences between all stages in the JIS score, while no significant difference was found between stages C and D in the BCLC staging classification and between all the scores, except between scores 0 and 1 and 2 and 3 in the Tokyo score. For all patients (n = 290), the radical treatment group (n = 208) and the non-radical treatment group (n = 82), the likelihood ratio chi(2)-test showed the highest value, and the Akaike information criterion value was lowest in the JIS score.

CONCLUSION

The JIS score provided the best prognostic stratification in a Japanese cohort of HCC patients who were mainly diagnosed at early stages and treated with radical therapies.

Comparison of seven staging systems in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in a cohort of patients who underwent radiofrequency ablation with complete response

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Many staging systems for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been proposed but the best tool for staging of HCC remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to identify the best staging system evaluating the predictive ability for outcome for each of the seven different staging systems applied in a homogeneous group of patients who underwent percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA).

METHODS

We analyzed retrospectively 112 patients with HCC and cirrhosis treated with percutaneous RFA from January, 1998 to April, 2005. Response to treatment after 30 days and for long-term follow-up was evaluated with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and serum alpha-fetoprotein level (AFP). All of the 112 patients were grouped according to each one of the seven different staging systems: Okuda, TNM, BCLC, CLIP, GRETCH, CUPI, JIS.

RESULTS

The mean follow-up time of the 112 patients submitted to RFA was 24 months (range 3-92 months) with survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 yr of 82%, 40%, and 18%, respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that factors related to survival were Child-Pugh score (P

CONCLUSIONS

The BCLC staging system shows a superior discriminatory power in our cohort of HCC patients who underwent RFA; moreover, it can give important prognostic information after complete response to treatment. Our study confirms the validity of the BCLC staging system in patients with HCC in cirrhosis.

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MESH Headings

• Aged
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/classification
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/complications
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/mortality
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/surgery
• Catheter Ablation
• Female
• Humans
• Liver Cirrhosis/complications
• Liver Neoplasms/classification
• Liver Neoplasms/complications
• Liver Neoplasms/mortality
• Liver Neoplasms/surgery
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Neoplasm Staging
• Prognosis
• Survival Rate
• Treatment Outcome

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Affiliation(s)

Alfredo Guglielmi Department of Surgery and Gastroenterology, University of Verona Medical School, Verona, Italy
Andrea Ruzzenente
Silvia Pachera
Alessandro Valdegamberi
Marco Sandri
Mirko D'Onofrio
Calogero Iacono

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Comparison of 7 staging systems for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing transarterial chemoembolization

BACKGROUND

Many liver staging systems have been proposed for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after locoregional therapy; however, controversies persist regarding which system is the best. In this study, the authors compared the performance of 7 staging systems in a cohort of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent transarterial chemoembolization.

METHODS

In total, 131 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent transarterial chemoembolization between August 1998 and February 2005 were included in the study. Demographic, laboratory, and tumor characteristics were determined at diagnosis and before therapy. At the time of censorship, 109 patients had died (83.2%). Predictors of survival were identified by using the Cox proportional hazards model. The likelihood-ratio chi-square statistic and the Akaike Information Criterion were calculated for 7 prognostic systems to evaluate their discriminatory ability. Comparisons of the survival rate between each stage were performed to evaluate the monotonicity of the gradients using Kaplan-Meier estimation and the log-rank test.

RESULTS

The 5-year survival rate for the entire cohort was 13.6%. The independent predictors of survival were serum albumin level (<or=3.4 g/dL), the presence of ascites, serum alpha-fetoprotein level (>60 ng/mL), and portal or hepatic vein tumor thrombosis (P= .001, P= .001, P= .004, and P= .000, respectively). The Cancer of the Liver Italian Program classification system was superior to the other 6 prognostic systems regarding discriminatory ability and the monotonicity of the gradients.

CONCLUSIONS

In this comparison of many staging systems, the Cancer of Liver Italian Program system provided the best prognostic stratification for a cohort the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent transarterial chemoembolization.

Review of current staging systems for hepatocellular carcinoma

Several staging systems have been developed to classify patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however, there is no consensus on which of these is the most useful and reliable. In this review article, currently available integrated staging systems taking into account both liver function and tumor progression are presented, and their characteristics and applicability for current HCC patients, many of whom are diagnosed in the early stage of the disease and treated by curative therapy, are discussed. Based on the original andsubsequent validation studies of these staging systems, we recommend that further validation studies of staging systems for HCC should focus on the revised Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging classification, Japan Integrated Staging (JIS) score and Tokyo score.

The model for end-stage liver disease based cancer staging systems are better prognostic models for hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective sequential survey

OBJECTIVE

Liver cirrhosis is a major component in staging for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) is a better prognostic predictor for cirrhotic patients compared to the Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) system, which is a parameter in Cancer of Liver Italian Program (CLIP), Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC), and Japan Integrated Scoring (JIS) system.

AIM

To investigate if the MELD-based models have a better prognostic ability.

METHODS

In the MELD-based model, the CTP class was replaced with MELD score at cutoffs of <10, 10-14, and >14. The modified systems were prospectively compared with the original counterpart in 430 consecutive HCC patients. Using 6-month mortality as the end point, the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) between the original and modified system was compared sequentially on a 3-monthly basis.

RESULTS

At the final inspection, the modified CLIP and JIS system had a significantly higher AUC compared to the original system (0.92 vs 0.893 for CLIP, P < 0.018; 0.88 vs 0.842 for JIS, P= 0.002), but there was no significant difference for the BCLC system (0.848 vs 0.841, P= 0.561). Survival analysis showed modified CLIP and JIS, and to a lesser extent, modified BCLC system, had a higher homogeneity likelihood ratio and discriminatory ability linear trend, and a lower Akaike information criterion in the Cox multivariate model, indicating a better discriminatory ability for different stage categories.

CONCLUSIONS

The MELD-based CLIP and JIS staging systems have an improved predictive ability compared to the original system and are feasible models for HCC staging in the MELD era.

Outcomes of Liver Transplantation in 490 Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Validation of a Uniform Staging after Surgical Treatment

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to compare the ability of staging systems (American Joint Committee on Cancer/Union Internationale contre le Cancer [AJCC/UICC], Japanese TNM, Pittsburgh, United Network for Organ Sharing [UNOS], Cancer of the Liver Italian Program [CLIP], Japan Integrated Staging [JIS], and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer [BCLC]) to predict survival after liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma.

STUDY DESIGN

Four hundred ninety consecutive patients who underwent liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma at 4 centers (1985 to 2005) were identified using a registry (US, Belgium, Germany). End points were overall (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Survival by stage was compared with the log-rank test. Sequential stage-wise discrimination of each system was evaluated using Cox regression.

RESULTS

Three- and 5-year overall survival rates were 71% and 64%, respectively; recurrence-free survival rates were 67% and 61%, respectively. Median followup among 327 living and 308 recurrence-free patients was 40 months. In only three systems--AJCC/UICC, Japanese TNM, and Pittsburgh--were overall and recurrence-free survivals longer for patients with low stage versus more advanced stage. For overall and recurrence-free survivals, sequential stages were different only for AJCC/UICC. In the Japanese TNM system, stages II and I were similar; for Pittsburgh, grades 3 and 2 were similar. For the United Network for Organ Sharing system, stages II and I and stages IVA1 and III were similar. All stages were similar for the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program. For the Japan Integrated Staging, scores 2 and 1 and scores 4 and 3 were similar. In the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer, stage D patients had significantly better survival than patients at stage C.

CONCLUSIONS

The AJCC/UICC staging system provides the best stratification of prognosis for patients undergoing liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma. This confirms previous analyses in patients treated with hepatic resection. The AJCC/UICC staging system should be considered for uniform prediction of outcomes after surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma.