Predicting survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a UK perspective.
OBJECTIVE
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a cancer of rising incidence in the UK. The aim of this study was to compare the Okuda, Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP), and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) classifications as predictors of survival in UK patients with HCC.


METHODS
Data were analysed from a prospective database maintained in a specialist hepatobiliary unit from 1998 to 2003. Each system was assessed for its discriminatory power, monotonicity of gradient, and independent contribution to prediction of mortality status based on a multivariate model.


RESULTS
One hundred and two patients (77 males, 25 females) were identified with a median age of 65 (range, 14-87) years. The overall median survival time was 13 months and the one- and five-year survival rates were 52.9% (95% CI: 43.2%, 62.6%) and 35.3% (95% CI: 26.0%, 44.6%), respectively. All three classification systems had the capacity to differentiate between patient survival times across different stages. The Okuda system was superior in overall discriminatory power and in strength of monotonicity. The BCLC system, however, made the highest independent contribution of all three systems in predicting survival in the Cox regression model.


CONCLUSIONS
All three classification systems were effective in predicting survival for patients with HCC in a UK population.
Kung
J W C
JW
Department of Clinical and Surgical Sciences (Surgery), Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh, Ward 106 (Room F3307), 51 Little France Crescent, Old Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh EH16 4SA, UK.
MacDougall
M
M
Madhavan
K K
KK
Garden
O J
OJ
Parks
R W
RW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends