Journal Article

Application of the Intermediate-Stage Subclassification to Patients With Untreated Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Cabibbo, Giuseppe, Foschi, Francesco Giuseppe, Virdone, Roberto, Masotto, Alberto, Giannini, Edoardo G, Rapaccini, Gian Lodovico, Sacco, Rodolfo, Moscatelli, Alessandro, Felder, Martina, Piscaglia, Fabio, Baroni, Gianluca Svegliati, Di Marco, Maria, Missale, Gabriele, Trevisani, Franco, Morisco, Filomena, Pellegatta, Gaia, Borzio, Franco, Ciccarese, Francesca, Gasbarrini, Antonio, Zoli, Marco, Farinati, Fabio, Vitale, Alessandro, Caturelli, Eugenio

2016

Overview

The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) intermediate stage (BCLC B) includes a heterogeneous population of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recently, in order to facilitate treatment decisions, a panel of experts proposed to subclassify BCLC B patients. In this study, we aimed to assess the prognostic capability of the BCLC B stage reclassification in a large cohort of patients with untreated HCC managed by the Italian Liver Cancer Group. We assessed the prognosis of 269 untreated HCC patients observed in the period 1987-2012 who were reclassified according to the proposed subclassification of the BCLC B stage from stage B1 to stage B4. We evaluated and compared the survival of the various substages. Median survival progressively decreased from stage B1 (n=65, 24.2%: 25 months) through stages B2 (n=105, 39.0%: 16 months) and B3 (n=22, 8.2%: 9 months), to stage B4 (n=77, 28.6%: 5 months; P<0.0001). Moreover, we observed a significantly different survival between contiguous stages (B1 vs. B2, P=0.0002; B2 vs. B3, P<0.0001; B3 vs. B4, P=0.0219). In multivariate analysis, the BCLC B subclassification (P<0.0001), MELD score (P=0.0013), and platelet count (P=0.0252) were independent predictors of survival. The subclassification of the intermediate-stage HCC predicts the prognosis of patients with untreated HCC. The prognostic figures identified in this study may be used as a benchmark to assess the efficacy of therapeutic intervention in the various BCLC B substages, whereas it remains to be established whether incorporation of the MELD score might improve the prognosis of treated patients.

• Publisher: Wolters Kluwer Health Medical Research, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Subject: Adult / Aged / Aged, 80 and over / Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - classification / Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology / Female / Gastroenterology / Humans / Liver Neoplasms - classification / Liver Neoplasms - pathology / Male / Middle Aged / Neoplasm Staging / Prognosis / Prospective Studies / Young Adult