Abstract
Background
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the major etiology for cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The severity of liver fibrosis is a crucial factor in prognostic prediction. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic role of Metavir fibrosis stage in HCV-related HCC and its association with noninvasive liver reserve models.
Methods
Between 2004 and 2016, 172 patients with HCV-related HCC undergoing surgical resection were enrolled. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify prognostic predictors. The area under receiver operating curve (AUROC) was used for comparison in predicting cirrhosis among different noninvasive liver reserve models.
Results
In the multivariate Cox analysis, AST > 45 IU/mL, multiple tumors, tumor size greater than 3 cm, and serum AFP > 20 ng/mL were independent risk factors linked with tumor recurrence. There was no significant association between Metavir fibrosis stage/ inflammatory activity and tumor recurrence. In the Cox model, Child-Turcotte-Pugh class B, tumor size greater than 3 cm, and Metavir fibrosis stage F3-F4 were independent predictors associated with decreased survival (all p < 0.001). In subgroup analysis, survival differences were consistently observed between patients with fibrosis stage F0–F2 and F3–F4 (p < 0.05) in either small (≤ 3 cm) or large (> 3 cm) HCC group. Among the noninvasive models, FIB-4 had the highest predictive accuracy (AUROC = 0.768, p < 0.001) to indicate cirrhosis compared to other models.
Conclusions
Metavir fibrosis stage can predict survival in HCV-related HCC patients independent of tumor size. FIB-4 is the best noninvasive model to predict cirrhosis in these patients.
References
Forner A, Reig M, Bruix J. Hepatocellular carcinoma. Lancet. 2018; 391: 1301-1314.
Ho SY, Liu PH, Hsu CY, Hsia CY, Su CW, Lee YH, Huang YH, Lee FY, Hou MC, Huo TI. Comparison of twelve liver functional reserve models for outcome prediction in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing surgical resection. Sci Rep. 2018; 8: 4773.
Bedossa P, Poynard T. An algorithm for the grading of activity in chronic hepatitis C. The METAVIR Cooperative Study Group. Hepatology. 1996; 24: 289-293.
Okamura Y, Ashida R, Yamamoto Y, Ito T, Sugiura T, Uesaka K. FIB-4 index is a predictor of background liver fibrosis and long-term outcomes after curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol. 2016; 23: 467-474.
Zheng J, Kuk D, Gonen M, Balachandran VP, Kingham TP, Allen PJ, D'Angelica MI, Jarnagin WR, DeMatteo RP. Actual 10-year survivors after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol. 2017; 24: 1358-1366.
Sasaki K, Shindoh J, Nishioka Y, Sugawara T, Margonis GA, Andreatos N, Pawlik TM, Hashimoto M. Postoperative low hepatitis C virus load predicts long-term outcomes after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma. J Surg Oncol. 2018; 117: 902-911.
Acknowledgments
We greatly thank Ms. Pao-Hua Huang for her help on the preparation for pathological samples.
Funding
This study was supported by the grants (V109C-011, VN109-06) from Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ho, SY., Wang, LC., Hsu, CY. et al. Metavir Fibrosis Stage in Hepatitis C–Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Association with Noninvasive Liver Reserve Models. J Gastrointest Surg 24, 1860–1862 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-020-04627-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-020-04627-1