The Significance of the Rapid Turnover Protein Score as a Predictor of the Long-Term Outcomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Hepatic Resection

Prognostic impact of osteosarcopenia in patients undergoing pancreatic resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

We investigated the prognostic impact of osteosarcopenia, defined as the combination of osteopenia and sarcopenia, in patients undergoing pancreatic resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

METHODS

The relationship of osteosarcopenia with disease-free survival and overall survival was analyzed in 183 patients who underwent elective pancreatic resection for PDAC. Computed tomography was used to measure the pixel density in the midvertebral core of the 11th thoracic vertebra for evaluation of osteopenia and in the psoas muscle area of the 3rd lumbar vertebra for evaluation of sarcopenia. Osteosarcopenia was defined as the simultaneous presence of both osteopenia and sarcopenia. The study employed a retrospective design to examine the relationship between osteosarcopenia and survival outcomes.

RESULTS

Osteosarcopenia was identified in 61 (33%) patients. In the univariate analysis, disease-free survival was significantly worse in patients with male sex (p = 0.031), pathological stage ≥ III PDAC (p = 0.001), NLR, ≥ 2.71 (p = 0.041), sarcopenia (p = 0.027), osteopenia (p = 0.001), and osteosarcopenia (p < 0.001), and overall survival was significantly worse in patients with male sex (p = 0.001), pathological stage ≥ III PDAC (p = 0.001), distal pancreatectomy (p = 0.025), sarcopenia (p = 0.003), osteopenia (p < 0.001), and osteosarcopenia (p < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, the independent predictors of disease-free survival were osteosarcopenia (p < 0.001) and pathological stage ≥ III PDAC (p = 0.002), and the independent predictors of overall survival were osteosarcopenia (p < 0.001), male sex (p = 0.006) and pathological stage ≥ III PDAC (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Osteosarcopenia has an adverse prognostic impact on long-term outcomes in patients undergoing pancreatic resection for PDAC.

The Impact of Imaging-Diagnosed Sarcopenia on Long-term Prognosis After Curative Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Recent research suggests that sarcopenia potentially influences the long-term postoperative prognosis of malignant tumors. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of imaging-diagnosed sarcopenia on the long-term prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after curative resection.

METHODS

In our approach, all studies incorporated in this study employed Cox proportional hazards models with multivariable adjusted hazard ratios. The meta-analysis was performed using R statistical software. The primary outcomes were quantified using hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

This study analyzed 30 studies, involving 7352 HCC patients after curative resection (2695 in the sarcopenia group and 4657 in the non-sarcopenia group). The meta-analysis of 28 studies indicated that patients in the sarcopenia group demonstrated notably inferior overall survival (OS) compared with the non-sarcopenia group (HR=2.20; 95% CI, 1.88-2.58; p < 0.01). Similarly, sarcopenia exhibits a significant association with poor recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) based on 16 and 6 studies (HR=1.50; 95% CI, 1.39-1.63; p < 0.01 and HR=1.96; 95% CI, 1.83-2.10; p < 0.01, respectively).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, imaging-diagnosed sarcopenia adversely affects the long-term prognosis, including OS, RFS, and DFS, in HCC patients after curative resection. The findings hold considerable importance in guiding comprehensive healthcare procedures for HCC patients after surgery.

The influence of the Pringle maneuver in laparoscopic hepatectomy: continuous monitor of hemodynamic change can predict the perioperatively physiological reservation

Importance

This is the first study to investigate the correlation between intra-operative hemodynamic changes and postoperative physiological status.

Objective

Design settings and participants

Patients receiving laparoscopic hepatectomy were routinely monitored using FloTract for goal-directed fluid management. The Pringle maneuver was routinely performed during parenchymal dissection and the hemodynamic changes were prospectively recorded. We retrospectively analyzed the continuous hemodynamic data from FloTrac to compare with postoperative physiological outcomes.

Exposure

The Pringle maneuver during laparoscopic hepatectomy.

Main outcomes and measures

Results

Stroke volume variation that did not recover from the relief of the Pringle maneuver during the last application of Pringle maneuver predicted elevated postoperative MELD-Na scores.

Conclusions and relevance

The complexity of the hemodynamic data recorded by the FloTrac system during the Pringle Maneuver in laparoscopic hepatectomy can be effectively analyzed using the growth mixture modeling (GMM) method. The results can potentially predict the risk of short-term liver function deterioration.

Association between sarcopenia and clinical outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: an updated meta-analysis

Although numerous studies have reported the association between sarcopenia and the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, there is lack of a newer and more comprehensive meta-analysis. Herein, a comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and Embase databases to identify relevant studies published up to February 2022. The outcomes were overall survival (OS), recurrence, progression-free survival, tumor response, severe postoperative complications, and toxicity of drugs. A total of 57 studies involving 9790 HCC patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of sarcopenia in HCC patients was 41.7% (95% CI 36.2-47.2%). Results demonstrated that sarcopenia was significantly associated with impaired OS (HR: 1.93, 95% CI 1.73-2.17, P < 0.001), higher risk of tumor recurrence (HR: 1.75, 95% CI 1.56-1.96, P < 0.001), lower objective response rate (OR: 0.37 95% CI 0.17-0.81, P = 0.012), and more drug-related adverse events (OR: 2.23, 95% CI 1.17-4.28, P = 0.015) in HCC patients. The subgroup analyses revealed that the OS of patients at the early stage of tumor was more severely affected by sarcopenia than for patients at other stages. Moreover, the presence of cirrhosis and Child Pugh class B increased the hazard of mortality from sarcopenia. This study has shown that sarcopenia is highly associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. In addition, cirrhosis and poor liver functional reserve increase the danger of sarcopenia. OS was more impaired in HCC patients with sarcopenia at early stage of tumor than at other tumor stages.

The significance of osteosarcopenia as a predictor of the long‐term outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatic resection

BACKGROUND

Frailty, represented by sarcopenia and osteopenia, has been associated with worse survival after hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Recently, the concept and term "osteosarcopenia" have been proposed, which has been associated with worse outcome in several malignancies.

METHODS

This study included 227 patients who underwent elective hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. Osteopenia was evaluated with computed tomographic measurement of pixel density in the midvertebral core of the 11th thoracic vertebra. The skeletal muscle index (SMI) was evaluated with psoas muscle areas at the third lumbar vertebra. Osteosarcopenia was defined as the concomitant occurrence of osteopenia and low SMI. We retrospectively investigated the relationship between osteosarcopenia and disease-free and overall survival.

RESULTS

Osteosarcopenia was identified in 27 (12%) of the patients. Multivariate analysis showed that osteosarcopenia (P < .001), C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio ≥0.02 (P = .002), and stage ≥III (P ≤ .001) were independent predictors of disease-free survival, while osteosarcopenia (P < .001), Child-Pugh grade B (P = .002), C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio ≥0.02 (P = .001), low SMI (P ≤ .001), and stage ≥III (P ≤ .001) were independent predictors of overall survival.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative osteosarcopenia may be a prognostic factor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatic resection. Our results suggests that the preoperative maintenance of skeletal muscle and bone density may potentially improve prognosis.

Dorsal vs ventral approach to the middle hepatic vein during laparoscopic left hemihepatectomy: multicenter retrospective observational study

BACKGROUND

Left hemihepatectomy requires exposure of the middle hepatic vein (MHV) at the cutting-surface. Two procedures are used to approach the MHV: a conventional ventral approach and a laparoscopy-specific dorsal approach. This multicenter retrospective observational study aimed to evaluate the perioperative outcomes of these two procedures.

METHODS

Clinical records of 38 consecutive patients that underwent laparoscopic left hemihepatectomy in four university hospitals between 2016 and 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Outcome measurements were operative blood loss, operating time, trend of postoperative laboratory data within 7 days after hepatectomy, and postoperative complications. Quality of MHV exposure was also evaluated and compared by three-grade evaluation (excellent/good/poor) using recorded still images of the cut-surface of the remnant liver (n = 35).

RESULTS

Dorsal and ventral approaches were performed in 9 and 29 patients, respectively. Median operating time was 316 min (dorsal) and 314 min (ventral) (P = 0.71). Median operative blood loss was 45 ml (dorsal) and 105 ml (ventral) (P = 0.10). Two patients in the ventral approach group had bleeding in excess of 500 ml, which was not seen in the dorsal approach group. Excellent/good/poor MHV appearance on the cutting-surface was observed in 5/3/1 patients in the dorsal approach group, respectively, and in 7/8/11 patients in the ventral approach group, respectively (P = 0.03). In the ventral approach group, significant increases of aspartate aminotransferase (on postoperative day 1 and day 4/5) and of alanine aminotransferase (on postoperative day 2/3 and 4/5) were observed (P < 0.05). Postoperative complications were observed only in the ventral approach group (n = 3).

CONCLUSIONS

The dorsal approach could achieve safe and precise anatomical left hemihepatectomy with operation time and operative blood loss comparable to the conventional ventral approach.

Predictive Value of Preoperative Serum AFP, CEA, and CA19-9 Levels in Patients with Single Small Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Retrospective Study

Purpose

This study aimed to explore the relationship between the tumor marker score (TMS) and the postoperative recurrence of single small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Patients and Methods

A total of 409 patients with one resectable HCC with a diameter of 3 cm or less who visited Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital from January 2010 to December 2014 were included in this study. Their alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) levels were classified into low and high groups using X-tile software. Each patients' TMS was calculated as the sum of each tumor marker (low = 0; high = 1).

Results

A total of 142 patients were classified as TMS0, 171 as TMS1, and 96 as TMS2. Kaplan–Meier analysis illustrated that TMS could divide the patients into groups with remarkably different prognoses, and the patients with high TMS had worse recurrence-free survival (RFS) than those with low TMS. Multivariate analysis showed that TMS, age, and HBeAg positive were the independent predictors of RFS rate. Subgroup analysis revealed that high TMS was a stable risk factor relative to TMS0. Receiver operating curves showed that the 1-, 3-, and 5-year area under curve (AUC) values of TMS were 0.698, 0.662, and 0.673, respectively. The AUC of TMS was higher than that of other common prognostic models in time-dependent receiver operating curve.

Conclusion

TMS was an independent prognostic factor for the postoperative recurrence of a single small HCC and can provide a well-discriminated risk stratification, thus contributing to prognostic prediction and adjuvant therapeutic development.

A Clinical-Radiomic Model for Predicting Indocyanine Green Retention Rate at 15 Min in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Purpose:

The indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min (ICG-R15) is of great importance in the accurate assessment of hepatic functional reserve for safe hepatic resection. To assist clinicians to evaluate hepatic functional reserve in medical institutions that lack expensive equipment, we aimed to explore a novel approach to predict ICG-R15 based on CT images and clinical data in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

In this retrospective study, 350 eligible patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to the training cohort (245 patients) and test cohort (105 patients). Radiomics features and clinical factors were analyzed to pick out the key variables, and based on which, we developed the random forest regression, extreme gradient boosting regression (XGBR), and artificial neural network models for predicting ICG-R15, respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient (R) was adopted to evaluate the performance of the models.

Results

We extracted 660 CT image features in total from each patient. Fourteen variables significantly associated with ICG-R15 were picked out for model development. Compared to the other two models, the XGBR achieved the best performance in predicting ICG-R15, with a mean difference of 1.59% (median, 1.53%) and an R-value of 0.90. Delong test result showed no significant difference in the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROCs) for predicting post hepatectomy liver failure between actual and estimated ICG-R15.

Conclusion

The proposed approach that incorporates the optimal radiomics features and clinical factors can allow for individualized prediction of ICG-R15 value of patients with HCC, regardless of the specific equipment and detection reagent (NO. ChiCTR2100053042; URL, http://www.chictr.org.cn).

Strategies and tactics to perform safe pancreaticoduodenectomy for 94-year-old patient: report of a case

Background

Despite improvement of postoperative management, pancreatoduodenectomy still has a high rate of major complications. Therefore, careful assessment is critically important when we consider high risk surgery for extremely elderly patients.

Case presentation

A 94-year-old man, who suffered dark urine, epigastric pain, and loss of appetite, was diagnosed as bile duct cancer and underwent endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage. He has past history of hypertension and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Computed tomography (CT) showed a nodule in the lower bile duct, which was slowly enhanced by dynamic CT. The patient was evaluated whether he overcomes pancreatoduodenectomy by cardiac ultrasonography, brain magnetic resonance angiography, nutritional evaluation (rapid turnover proteins), and CT-based general assessment, including sarcopenia and osteopenia. The patient was independent in activities of daily living and has enough ejection fraction of 65%, and examinations revealed no impairment of cognitive function, sarcopenia, and osteopenia. With a diagnosis of bile duct cancer with no distant metastasis, the patient underwent subtotal stomach-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy with lymph node dissection. Operation time was 299 min and estimated blood loss was 100 ml. Pathological examination revealed papillary adenocarcinoma of the bile duct (pT3N1M0 Stage IIIB). Enteral nutrition was given through jejunostomy and then the patient started oral intake after an evaluation of swallowing function. Postoperative course was uneventful and all drains including pancreatic duct stent, biliary stent, and jejunostomy were removed by 3 weeks after operation. The levels of rapid turnover proteins dropped at postoperative day 7, but recovered at 1 month after operation via appropriate nutrition and rehabilitation. He remains well with no evidence of tumor recurrence as of 1 year after resection.

Conclusions

We herein report successfully treated cases of bile duct cancer in 94-year-old patient by pancreatoduodenectomy with careful evaluation of osteopenia, sarcopenia and nutrition.