Applicability of BALAD score in prognostication of hepatitis B‐related hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

BALAD score is applicable in the population of hepatitis B virus-related HCC. The combined use of BALAD score and BCLC staging system could help identify more suitable candidates for clinical trial.

Biology and significance of alpha‐fetoprotein in hepatocellular carcinoma

“…Biomarkers (AFP, AFP‐L3 and DCP) were also used to refine the JIS system (bm‐JIS), resulting in superior stratification ability and better survival prediction in comparison with the conventional JIS score . The BALAD system has been validated in non‐Japanese populations . Despite these considerable achievements, both scores have not yet been widely implemented and await confirmation in multicenter, international studies.…”

Systematic evaluation of circulating inflammatory markers for hepatocellular carcinoma

“…This study population came from a prospective cohort of patients recruited in the multidisciplinary hepatoma clinic at the Prince of Wales Hospital from January 2009 to December 2012. Part of the cohort has been reported in previous studies . The diagnosis of HCC was made in accordance with the guideline established by the American Association for the Study of Liver disease .…”

“…At the time of consent, both serum and plasma samples were obtained from each subject and archived for future research. The outcome and survival of each patient were followed‐up routinely in the clinic, as described in previous studies . Overall survival was defined from the time of surgery to the time of HCC‐related death, or last follow‐up if death had not occurred.…”

“…The outcome and survival of each patient were followed-up routinely in the clinic, as described in previous studies. 17,25,26,28 Overall survival was defined from the time of surgery to the time of HCC-related death, or last follow-up if death had not occurred.…”

Staging of hepatocellular carcinoma

“…The BALAD score has been validated in an independent cohort of Japanese population of HCC, as well as in the Caucasian population of HCC, and the score is consistently able to stratify the outcome of HCC into six group of patients with distinct median OS [54,61] . It has also been studied in a Chinese patient population of HBV related HCC and shown to have the corresponding median OS of BALAD scores of 1, 2, 3 and 4 as 26.6, 8.3, 2.6, and 1.9 months, respectively [62] . Although the BALAD score is a simple and objective tool for staging HCC it is not easy to measure the AFP-L3 and DCP values in routine clinical practice worldwide.…”