Background: Heterogeneity of liver function and tumor burden in intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) results in different outcomes after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Easy albumin-bilirubin (EZ-ALBI), a simplified albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score, has recently been proposed as a new prognostic score for HCC. This study aimed to validate the EZ-ALBI score and evaluate the impact of dynamic changes in patients with intermediate-stage HCC undergoing TACE.
Methods: All patients with HCC treated with TACE at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, between January 2015 and December 2019 were prospectively enrolled. Intermediate-stage HCC was defined as Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage B or unresectable single HCC with size > 5 cm in BCLC stage A. EZ-ALBI and ALBI scores were calculated and stratified into three different grades. Overall survival (OS) and prognostic factors were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox proportional hazard model. Decision analysis curves were used to evaluate the clinical utility of the predictive scores.
Results: Among 672 patients with HCC treated with TACE, 166 patients with intermediate-stage HCC who met the eligibility criteria were enrolled. The median OS of all patients in the cohort was 21 months. A good correlation between the EZ-ALBI and ALBI scores was observed (correlation coefficient 1.000, p < 0.001). The baseline EZ-ALBI grades 1, 2, and 3 were 24.5%, 70%, and 5.5%, respectively. EZ-ALBI grade can stratify patients with significantly different prognoses (p = 0.002). Baseline EZ-ALBI grade 2, 3, and serum alpha-fetoprotein > 20 ng/ml were significantly associated with OS [hazard ratio (HR) 2.20 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24-3.88, p = 0.007), 3.26 (95% CI 1.24-8.57, p = 0.016), and 1.77 (95% CI 1.10-2.84, p = 0.018), respectively]. Following TACE, 42 (29.6%) patients had a worsening EZ-ALBI grade. However, the EZ-ALBI grade migration was not significantly correlated with OS. EZ-ALBI and ALBI score provided improved discriminatory ability (Harrell's concordance index 0.599 and 0.602, respectively) and better net benefit compared with Child-Turcotte-Pugh and Model for End-stage Liver Disease scores.
Conclusions: The baseline EZ-ALBI score demonstrated good predictive performance for survival and a strong correlation with conventional ALBI scores. Both the EZ-ALBI and ALBI scores outperformed other prognostic models in patients with intermediate-stage HCC receiving TACE. However, the dynamic change in the EZ-ALBI grade after TACE was not associated with postprocedural survival.
Keywords: Easy albumin-bilirubin score; Intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma; Overall survival; Trans-arterial chemoembolization.
© 2022. The Author(s).