Comparison of non-invasive liver reserve and fibrosis models: Implications for surgery and prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abstract

AIM:

This study aimed to assess the clinical utility of preoperative evaluation of liver fibrosis using platelet-albumin-bilirubin (PALBI) grade, Fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4), and aspartate transaminase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and explore the clinical impact of these models with regard to perioperative risks and HCC prognosis.

METHODS:

Between January 2003 and December 2018, 305 consecutive patients who underwent hepatectomy for HCC were enrolled.

RESULTS:

The APRI showed the most robust diagnostic performance through each fibrosis stage among three models (PALBI, FIB-4, and APRI): fibrosis stage 3 (f3), area under the curve [AUC] = 0.55, 0.72, and 0.76; and f4, AUC = 0.51, 0.71, and 0.76, respectively). In addition, survival analysis revealed that all three models were significantly associated with HCC prognosis. PALBI (grade 1 vs. 2, 3): recurrence-free survival (RFS): median survival time (MST), 34 vs. 17 months, 0.007; overall survival (OS): MST, 115 vs. 68, 0.02. FIB-4 (grade 1, 2 vs. 3): RFS: MST, 34 vs. 22, 0.004, OS: MST, 120 vs. 63, 0.0001. APRI (grade 1, 2 vs. 3), RFS: MST, 30 vs. 20, 0.0005; OS: MST, 107 vs. 55, 0.0003. Among three scoring systems, only PALBI grade was significantly associated with both operative time (median, 303 vs. 340 min, 0.01) and intraoperative blood loss (median, 581 vs. 859 mL, 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS:

This study showed robust performances of selected liver reserve and fibrosis models to predict HCC prognosis. Of them, PALBI might be used for assessing perioperative risks for hepatectomy for HCC.

• Authors: Fuminori Sonohara, Suguru Yamada, Nobutake Tanaka, Mitsuru Tashiro, Yuki Sunagawa, Daishi Morimoto, Haruyoshi Tanaka, Hideki Takami, Masamichi Hayashi, Mitsuro Kanda, Chie Tanaka, Daisuke Kobayashi, Goro Nakayama, Masahiko Koike, Michitaka Fujiwara, Yasuhiro Kodera
• Journal: Hepatology research : the official journal of the Japan Society of Hepatology (Hepatol Res) Vol. 49 Issue 11 Pg. 1305-1315 (Nov 2019) ISSN: 1386-6346 [Print] Netherlands
• PMID: 31260575 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2019 The Japan Society of Hepatology.