0000000001139583
AUTHOR
Gian Lodovico Rapaccini
Utility-based criteria for selecting patients with hepatocellular carcinoma for liver transplantation: A multicenter cohort study using the alpha-fetoprotein model as a survival predictor
The lifetime utility of liver transplantation (LT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still controversial. The aim of this study was to ascertain when LT is cost-effective for HCC patients, with a view to proposing new transplant selection criteria. The study involved a real cohort of potentially transplantable Italian HCC patients (n = 2419 selected from the Italian Liver Cancer group database) who received nontransplant therapies. A non-LT survival analysis was conducted, the direct costs of therapies were calculated, and a Markov model was used to compute the cost utility of LT over non-LT therapies in Italian and US cost scenarios. Post-LT survival was calculated using t…
Hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence in patients with curative resection or ablation: impact of HCV eradication does not depend on the use of interferon
none 48 no Background: In HCV-infected cirrhotic patients with successfully treated early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the time to HCC recurrence and the effects of sustained viral eradication (SVR) by interferon (IFN)-based or IFN-free regimens on HCC recurrence remain unclear. Aim: To perform an indirect comparison of time to recurrence (TTR) in patients with successfully treated early HCC and active HCV infection with those of patients with SVR by IFN-based and by IFN-free regimens. Methods: We evaluated 443 patients with HCV-related cirrhosis and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer Stage A/0 HCC who had a complete radiological response after curative resection or ablation. Active HCV infec…
The evolutionary scenario of hepatocellular carcinoma in Italy: an update
Background and aims Epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma is changing worldwide. This study aimed at evaluating the changing scenario of etiology, presentation, management and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in Italy during the last 15 years. Methods Retrospective analysis of the ITA.LI.CA (Italian Liver Cancer) database including 5192 hepatocellular carcinoma patients managed in 24 centers from 2000 to 2014. Patients were divided into three groups according to the date of cancer diagnosis (2000-2004, 2005-2009 and 2010-2014). Results The main results were: 1) progressive patient aging; 2) progressive expansion of non-viral cases and, namely, of “metabolic” hepatocellular carcinoma…
Application of the Intermediate-Stage Subclassification to Patients With Untreated Hepatocellular Carcinoma
OBJECTIVES: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.METHODS: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 compa…
Development and Validation of a New Prognostic System for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Background Prognostic assessment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial. Using the Italian Liver Cancer (ITA.LI.CA) database as a training set, we sought to develop and validate a new prognostic system for patients with HCC. Methods and Findings Prospective collected databases from Italy (training cohort, n = 3,628; internal validation cohort, n = 1,555) and Taiwan (external validation cohort, n = 2,651) were used to develop the ITA.LI.CA prognostic system. We first defined ITA.LI.CA stages (0, A, B1, B2, B3, C) using only tumor characteristics (largest tumor diameter, number of nodules, intra- and extrahepatic macroscopic vascular invasion, extrahepatic metas…
Recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after direct acting antiviral treatment for hepatitis C virus infection: Literature review and risk analysis
Although studies suggest decreased incident hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, data are conflicting regarding risk and aggressiveness of recurrence in patients who have a history of treated HCC. This review analyses data available in literature in order to elucidate the impact of DAAs on the risk of HCC recurrence after successful treatment of the tumor. Overall 24 papers were identified. The available data cannot be considered definitive, but the initial alarmist data indicating an increased risk of recurrence have not been confirmed by most subsequent studies. The suggested aggressive pattern (rapid gr…
Contrast ultrasound LI-RADS LR-5 identifies hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis in a multicenter restropective study of 1,006 nodules
Background & Aims The use of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhosis was questioned because of the risk of a false positive diagnosis in cases of cholangiocarcinoma. The American College of Radiology has recently released a scheme (CEUS Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System [LI-RADS®]) to classify lesions at risk of HCC investigated by CEUS. The aim of the present study was to validate this LI-RADS scheme for the diagnosis of HCC. Methods A total of 1,006 nodules from 848 patients with chronic liver disease at risk of HCC were collected in five Italian centers and retrospectively analyzed. Nodules were classified as LR-5, (HCC) …