Survival and prognostic factors after transplantation, resection and ablation in a national cohort of early hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Background The potential reversibility of aberrant DNA methylation indicates an opportunity for oncotherapy. This study aimed to integrate methylation-driven genes and pretreatment prognostic factors and then construct a new individual prognostic model in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Methods The gene methylation, gene expression dataset and clinical information of HCC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Methylation-driven genes were screened with a Pearson’s correlation coefficient less than − 0.3 and a P value less than 0.05. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to construct a risk score model and identify independent prognostic factors from the clinical parameters of HCC patients. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) technique was used to construct a nomogram that might act to predict an individual’s OS, and then C-index, ROC curve and calibration plot were used to test the practicability. The correlation between clinical parameters and core methylation-driven genes of HCC patients was explored with Student’s t-test. Results In this study, 44 methylation-driven genes were discovered, and three prognostic signatures (LCAT, RPS6KA6, and C5orf58) were screened to construct a prognostic risk model of HCC patients. Five clinical factors, including T stage, risk score, cancer status, surgical method and new tumor events, were identified from 13 clinical parameters as pretreatment-independent prognostic factors. To avoid overfitting, LASSO analysis was used to construct a nomogram that could be used to calculate the OS in HCC patients. The C-index was superior to that from previous studies (0.75 vs 0.717, 0.676). Furthermore, LCAT was found to be correlated with T stage and new tumor events, and RPS6KA6 was found to be correlated with T stage. Conclusion We identified novel therapeutic targets and constructed an individual prognostic model that can be used to guide personalized treatment in HCC patients.

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Efficacy and Safety of Lenvatinib Therapy for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Real-World Practice in Korea

Liver Cancer ◽

10.1159/000512239 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Myung Ji Goh ◽

Joo Hyun Oh ◽

Yewan Park ◽

Jihye Kim ◽

Wonseok Kang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Prognostic Factors ◽

Disease Progression ◽

Real World ◽

Medical Center ◽

Objective Response ◽

Progression Free Survival ◽

Efficacy And Safety ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background: Lenvatinib has been recently approved as a first-line treatment option for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Korea. We aimed to study the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib therapy in a real-world practice and to find prognostic factors related to survival and disease progression. Methods: A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted on 111 consecutive patients who had unresectable HCC and were treated with lenvatinib at Samsung Medical Center from October 2018 to March 2020. Efficacy was determined using the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) criteria in 111 patients who completed 1st tumor assessment. Safety was evaluated in 116 HCC patients including 5 patients who discontinued lenvatinib due to adverse events (AEs) before 1st tumor assessment using Common Terminology Criteria for AEs version 5.0. Results: A total of 111 patients with a median age of 59 years were analyzed during a median follow-up duration of 6.2 (4.4–9.0) months. The Kaplan-Meier estimate of overall survival was 10.5 months, and the median progression-free survival was 6.2 months. Based on mRECIST criteria, the objective response rate was 18.9% and disease control rate was 75.7%. AEs developed in 86/116 (74.1%) patients, and grade ≥3 AEs developed in 16/116 (13.8%) patients. Diarrhea, hand-foot skin rash, abdominal pain, hypertension, and anorexia were identified as the AEs with the highest frequencies of any grade. REFLECT eligibility criteria including tumor extent ≥50% liver occupation or inadequate bone marrow function and occurrence of anorexia were prognostic factors for survival, and occurrence of diarrhea was a favorable factor for disease progression. Conclusion: Lenvatinib therapy showed a favorable efficacy and safety in a real-world practice. The REFLECT eligibility criteria and specific AEs could be one of the prognostic markers.

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Efficacy of lenvatinib for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma based on background liver disease etiology: multi-center retrospective study

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-96089-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Atsushi Hiraoka ◽

Takashi Kumada ◽

Toshifumi Tada ◽

Joji Tani ◽

Kazuya Kariyama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Prognostic Factors ◽

Liver Disease ◽

Hazard Analysis ◽

Progression Free Survival ◽

Significant Prognostic Factor ◽

Disease Etiology ◽

Alcoholic Fatty Liver ◽

Free Survival ◽

Significant Difference

AbstractIt was recently reported that hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are not responsive to immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of lenvatinib in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/NASH-related unresectable-HCC (u-HCC). Five hundred thirty u-HCC patients with Child–Pugh A were enrolled, and divided into the NAFLD/NASH (n = 103) and Viral/Alcohol (n = 427) groups. Clinical features were compared in a retrospective manner. Progression-free survival (PFS) was better in the NAFLD/NASH than the Viral/Alcohol group (median 9.3 vs. 7.5 months, P = 0.012), while there was no significant difference in overall survival (OS) (20.5 vs. 16.9 months, P = 0.057). In Cox-hazard analysis of prognostic factors for PFS, elevated ALT (≥ 30 U/L) (HR 1.247, P = 0.029), modified ALBI grade 2b (HR 1.236, P = 0.047), elevated AFP (≥ 400 ng/mL) (HR 1.294, P = 0.014), and NAFLD/NASH etiology (HR 0.763, P = 0.036) were significant prognostic factors. NAFLD/NASH etiology was not a significant prognostic factor in Cox-hazard analysis for OS (HR0.758, P = 0.092), whereas AFP (≥ 400 ng/mL) (HR 1.402, P = 0.009), BCLC C stage (HR 1.297, P = 0.035), later line use (HR 0.737, P = 0.014), and modified ALBI grade 2b (HR 1.875, P < 0.001) were significant. Lenvatinib can improve the prognosis of patients affected by u-HCC irrespective of HCC etiology or its line of treatment.

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Beta-adrenergic receptor blockers and liver cancer mortality in a national cohort of hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology ◽

10.1080/00365521.2020.1762919 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 55 (5) ◽

pp. 597-605

Author(s):

Ruzan Udumyan ◽

Scott Montgomery ◽

Ann-Sofi Duberg ◽

Fang Fang ◽

Unnur Valdimarsdottir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Liver Cancer ◽

Cancer Mortality ◽

Adrenergic Receptor ◽

Beta Adrenergic Receptor ◽

Beta Adrenergic ◽

National Cohort ◽

Receptor Blockers

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Resection or ablation for very early hepatocellular carcinoma and the fundamental problem of causal inference

HepatoBiliary Surgery and Nutrition ◽

10.21037/hbsn.2017.05.03 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 272-273

Author(s):

Alessandro Cucchetti ◽

Matteo Serenari

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Causal Inference ◽

Fundamental Problem ◽

Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma

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Understanding Surgical Decision Making in Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2010.30.8650 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 29 (6) ◽

pp. 619-625 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Hari Nathan ◽

John F.P. Bridges ◽

Richard D. Schulick ◽

Andrew M. Cameron ◽

Kenzo Hirose ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Decision Making ◽

Independent Effect ◽

Clinical Factors ◽

Surgical Decision ◽

Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Early Hcc ◽

The Impact ◽

Surgical Decision Making ◽

Choice Of Therapy

Purpose The choice between liver transplantation (LT), liver resection (LR), and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) as initial therapy for early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is controversial, yet little is known about how surgeons choose therapy for individual patients. We sought to quantify the impact of both clinical factors and surgeon specialty on surgical decision making in early HCC by using conjoint analysis. Methods Surgeons with an interest in liver surgery were invited to complete a Web-based survey including 10 case scenarios. Choice of therapy was then analyzed by using regression models that included both clinical factors and surgeon specialty (non-LT v LT). Results When assessing early HCC occurrences, non-LT surgeons (50% LR; 41% LT; 9% RFA) made significantly different recommendations compared with LT surgeons (63% LT; 31% LR; 6% RFA; P < .001). Clinical factors, including tumor number and size, type of resection required, and platelet count, had significant effects on the choice between LR, LT, and RFA. After adjusting for clinical factors, non-LT surgeons remained more likely than LT surgeons to choose LR compared with LT (relative risk ratio [RRR], 2.67). When the weight of each clinical factor was allowed to vary by surgeon specialty, the residual independent effect of surgeon specialty on the decision between LR and LT was negligible (RRR, 0.93). Conclusion The impact of surgeon specialty on choice of therapy for early HCC is stronger than that of some clinical factors. However, the influence of surgeon specialty does not merely reflect an across-the-board preference for one therapy over another. Rather, certain clinical factors are weighed differently by surgeons in different specialties.

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