Won-Mook Choi1, Su Jong Yu2, Hongkeun Ahn3, Hyeki Cho3, Young Youn Cho3, Minjong Lee4, Jeong-Ju Yoo5, Yuri Cho6, Dong Hyeon Lee7, Eun Ju Cho3, Jeong-Hoon Lee3, Yoon Jun Kim3, Jung-Hwan Yoon3. 1. Lab of Liver Research, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea; Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 2. Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: ydoctor2@hanmail.net. 3. Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 4. Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Internal Medicine, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea. 5. Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon, Republic of Korea. 6. Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Internal Medicine, CHA Gangnam Medical Center, CHA University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 7. Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Abstract
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.
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.
Keywords:
Hepatocellular carcinoma; Natural history; Overall survival; The model to estimate survival in ambulatory hepatocellular carcinoma patients (MESIAH)