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Ahmed F, Mishra NK, Alghamdi OA, Khan MI, Ahmad A, Khan N, Rehan M. Deciphering KDM8 dysregulation and CpG methylation in hepatocellular carcinoma using multi-omics and machine learning. Epigenomics 2024; 16:961-983. [PMID: 39072393 PMCID: PMC11370911 DOI: 10.1080/17501911.2024.2374702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Aim: This study investigates the altered expression and CpG methylation patterns of histone demethylase KDM8 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), aiming to uncover insights and promising diagnostics biomarkers.Materials & methods: Leveraging TCGA-LIHC multi-omics data, we employed R/Bioconductor libraries and Cytoscape to analyze and construct a gene correlation network, and LASSO regression to develop an HCC-predictive model.Results: In HCC, KDM8 downregulation is correlated with CpGs hypermethylation. Differential gene correlation analysis unveiled a liver carcinoma-associated network marked by increased cell division and compromised liver-specific functions. The LASSO regression identified a highly accurate HCC prediction signature, prominently featuring CpG methylation at cg02871891.Conclusion: Our study uncovers CpG hypermethylation at cg02871891, possibly influencing KDM8 downregulation in HCC, suggesting these as promising biomarkers and targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Firoz Ahmed
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nitish Kumar Mishra
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, 38015, USA
| | - Othman A Alghamdi
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammad Imran Khan
- Research Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, Al-Faisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Aamir Ahmad
- Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, 3050, Qatar
| | - Nargis Khan
- Snyder Institute of Chronic Diseases, Health Research & Innovation Center, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Mohammad Rehan
- Snyder Institute of Chronic Diseases, Health Research & Innovation Center, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Dai H, Klause H, Conran RM. Educational Case: Hepatocellular carcinoma. Acad Pathol 2024; 11:100108. [PMID: 38433777 PMCID: PMC10904914 DOI: 10.1016/j.acpath.2024.100108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Harrison Dai
- School of Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Harrison Klause
- Department of Radiology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Medical Center Radiologists, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Richard M. Conran
- Department of Pathology & Anatomy, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
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3
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Tsoneva DK, Ivanov MN, Vinciguerra M. Liquid Liver Biopsy for Disease Diagnosis and Prognosis. J Clin Transl Hepatol 2023; 11:1520-1541. [PMID: 38161500 PMCID: PMC10752811 DOI: 10.14218/jcth.2023.00040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Liver diseases are a major burden worldwide, the scope of which is expected to further grow in the upcoming years. Clinically relevant liver dysfunction-related blood markers such as alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase have limited accuracy. Nowadays, liver biopsy remains the gold standard for several liver-related pathologies, posing a risk of complication due to its invasive nature. Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive approach, which has shown substantial potential in the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of liver diseases by detecting disease-associated particles such as proteins and RNA molecules in biological fluids. Histones are the core components of the nucleosomes, regulating essential cellular processes, including gene expression and DNA repair. Following cell death or activation of immune cells, histones are released in the extracellular space and can be detected in circulation. Histones are stable in circulation, have a long half-life, and retain their post-translational modifications. Here, we provide an overview of the current research on histone-mediated liquid biopsy methods for liver diseases, with a focus on the most common detection methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Desislava K. Tsoneva
- Department of Medical Genetics, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Transplantology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
| | - Martin N. Ivanov
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Transplantology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
| | - Manlio Vinciguerra
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Transplantology, Research Institute, Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria
- Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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Safrastyan A, Zu Siederdissen CH, Wollny D. Decoding cell-type contributions to the cfRNA transcriptomic landscape of liver cancer. Hum Genomics 2023; 17:90. [PMID: 37798661 PMCID: PMC10552294 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-023-00537-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Liquid biopsy, particularly cell-free RNA (cfRNA), has emerged as a promising non-invasive diagnostic tool for various diseases, including cancer, due to its accessibility and the wealth of information it provides. A key area of interest is the composition and cellular origin of cfRNA in the blood and the alterations in the cfRNA transcriptomic landscape during carcinogenesis. Investigating these changes can offer insights into the manifestations of tissue alterations in the blood, potentially leading to more effective diagnostic strategies. However, the consistency of these findings across different studies and their clinical utility remains to be fully elucidated, highlighting the need for further research in this area. RESULTS In this study, we analyzed over 350 blood samples from four distinct studies, investigating the cell type contributions to the cfRNA transcriptomic landscape in liver cancer. We found that an increase in hepatocyte proportions in the blood is a consistent feature across most studies and can be effectively utilized for classifying cancer and healthy samples. Moreover, our analysis revealed that in addition to hepatocytes, liver endothelial cell signatures are also prominent in the observed changes. By comparing the classification performance of cellular proportions to established markers, we demonstrated that cellular proportions could distinguish cancer from healthy samples as effectively as existing markers and can even enhance classification when used in combination with these markers. CONCLUSIONS Our comprehensive analysis of liver cell-type composition changes in blood revealed robust effects that help classify cancer from healthy samples. This is especially noteworthy, considering the heterogeneous nature of datasets and the etiological distinctions of samples. Furthermore, the observed differences in results across studies underscore the importance of integrative and comparative approaches in the future research to determine the consistency and robustness of findings. This study contributes to the understanding of cfRNA composition in liver cancer and highlights the potential of cellular deconvolution in liquid biopsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aram Safrastyan
- RNA Bioinformatics and High Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
- Leibniz Institute On Aging-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Jena, Germany.
| | | | - Damian Wollny
- RNA Bioinformatics and High Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
- Leibniz Institute On Aging-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Jena, Germany.
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
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5
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Nguyen ALT, Si L, Lubel JS, Shackel N, Yee KC, Wilson M, Bradshaw J, Hardy K, Palmer AJ, Blizzard CL, de Graaff B. Hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance based on the Australian Consensus Guidelines: a health economic modelling study. BMC Health Serv Res 2023; 23:378. [PMID: 37076870 PMCID: PMC10116722 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-023-09360-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fastest increasing cause of cancer death in Australia. A recent Australian consensus guidelines recommended HCC surveillance for cirrhotic patients and non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients at gender and age specific cut-offs. A cost-effectiveness model was then developed to assess surveillance strategies in Australia. METHODS A microsimulation model was used to evaluate three strategies: biannual ultrasound, biannual ultrasound with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and no formal surveillance for patients having one of the conditions: non-cirrhotic CHB, compensated cirrhosis or decompensated cirrhosis. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses as well as scenario and threshold analyses were conducted to account for uncertainties: including exclusive surveillance of CHB, compensated cirrhosis or decompensated cirrhosis populations; impact of obesity on ultrasound sensitivity; real-world adherence rate; and different cohort's ranges of ages. RESULTS Sixty HCC surveillance scenarios were considered for the baseline population. The ultrasound + AFP strategy was the most cost-effective with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) compared to no surveillance falling below the willingness-to-pay threshold of A$50,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) at all age ranges. Ultrasound alone was also cost-effective, but the strategy was dominated by ultrasound + AFP. Surveillance was cost-effective in the compensated and decompensated cirrhosis populations alone (ICERs < $30,000), but not cost-effective in the CHB population (ICERs > $100,000). Obesity could decrease the diagnostic performance of ultrasound, which in turn, reduce the cost-effectiveness of ultrasound ± AFP, but the strategies remained cost-effective. CONCLUSIONS HCC surveillance based on Australian recommendations using biannual ultrasound ± AFP was cost-effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh Le Tuan Nguyen
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart, TAS, 7000, Australia.
| | - Lei Si
- School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, Australia
- Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
| | - John S Lubel
- Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | | | - Kwang Chien Yee
- School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
- Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | - Mark Wilson
- School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
- Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | | | - Kerry Hardy
- Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | - Andrew John Palmer
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart, TAS, 7000, Australia
| | - Christopher Leigh Blizzard
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart, TAS, 7000, Australia
| | - Barbara de Graaff
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart, TAS, 7000, Australia
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Radiolabeling of statistically optimized nanosized atorvastatin suspension for liver targeting and extensive imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma. J Drug Deliv Sci Technol 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jddst.2023.104171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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Spearman CW, Dusheiko G, Jonas E, Abdo A, Afihene M, Cunha L, Desalegn H, Kassianides C, Katsidzira L, Kramvis A, Lam P, Lesi OA, Micah EA, Musabeyezu E, Ndow G, Nnabuchi CV, Ocama P, Okeke E, Rwegasha J, Shewaye AB, Some FF, Tzeuton C, Sonderup MW. Hepatocellular carcinoma: measures to improve the outlook in sub-Saharan Africa. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol 2022; 7:1036-1048. [PMID: 35810766 DOI: 10.1016/s2468-1253(22)00041-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma is a leading public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is most prevalent in young adults (median 45 years [IQR 35-57]). Overall, outcomes are poor, with a median survival of 2·5 months after presentation. Major risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma are hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus, aflatoxin B1 exposure, and alcohol consumption, with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease slowly emerging as a risk factor over the past few years. Crucially, these risk factors are preventable and manageable with effective implementation of the HBV birth-dose vaccination, treatment of chronic viral hepatitis, provision of harm reduction services, and by decreasing aflatoxin B1 exposure and harmful alcohol consumption. Primary prevention is central to the management of hepatocellular carcinoma, especially in poorly resourced environments. Effective screening and surveillance programmes with recall policies need to be implemented, because detection and curative management of hepatocellular carcinoma is possible if it is detected at an early stage, even in countries with minimal resources, with appropriate upskilling of medical personnel. The establishment of centres of excellence with advanced diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities within countries should improve hepatocellular carcinoma outcomes and assist in driving the implementation of much needed systematic data systems focused on hepatocellular carcinoma to establish the accurate burden in sub-Saharan Africa. Such data would support the public health importance of hepatocellular carcinoma and provide a strong basis for advocacy, programme development, resource allocation, and monitoring of progress in reducing mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Wendy Spearman
- Division of Hepatology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Geoffrey Dusheiko
- University College London Medical School, London, UK; Kings College Hospital, London, UK
| | - Eduard Jonas
- Surgical Gastroenterology Unit, Division of General Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Abdelmounem Abdo
- National Centre for Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, Ibn Sina Hospital, Alamarat, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Mary Afihene
- Department of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
| | - Lina Cunha
- Gastroenterology Unit, Maputo Private Hospital, Maputo, Mozambique
| | - Hailemichael Desalegn
- Department of Internal Medicine, St Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Chris Kassianides
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Leolin Katsidzira
- Internal Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | - Anna Kramvis
- Hepatitis Virus Diversity Research Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | - Olufunmilayo A Lesi
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology Unit, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
| | - Eileen A Micah
- Department of Medicine, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana
| | | | - Gibril Ndow
- Disease Control and Elimination Theme, MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Chidi V Nnabuchi
- Asokoro District Hospital, Nile University Teaching Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria
| | - Ponsiano Ocama
- School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Edith Okeke
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of Jos, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria
| | - John Rwegasha
- Gastroenterology Training Centre, Department of Internal Medicine, Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Abate B Shewaye
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Fatuma F Some
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
| | - Christian Tzeuton
- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences of Douala, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon
| | - Mark W Sonderup
- Division of Hepatology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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Devan AR, Pavithran K, Nair B, Murali M, Nath LR. Deciphering the role of transforming growth factor-beta 1 as a diagnostic-prognostic-therapeutic candidate against hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol 2022; 28:5250-5264. [PMID: 36185626 PMCID: PMC9521521 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i36.5250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Revised: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) is a multifunctional cytokine that performs a dual role as a tumor suppressor and tumor promoter during cancer progression. Among different ligands of the TGF-β family, TGF-β1 modulates most of its biological outcomes. Despite the abundant expression of TGF-β1 in the liver, steatosis to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression triggers elevated TGF-β1 levels, contributing to poor prognosis and survival. Additionally, elevated TGF-β1 levels in the tumor microenvironment create an immunosuppressive stage via various mechanisms. TGF-β1 has a prime role as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in HCC. Moreover, TGF-β1 is widely studied as a therapeutic target either as monotherapy or combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors. This review provides clinical relevance and up-to-date information regarding the potential of TGF-β1 in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy against HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aswathy R Devan
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS Health Science Campus, Kochi 682041, Kerala, India
| | - Keechilat Pavithran
- Department of Medical Oncology and Hematology, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi 682041, Kerala, India
| | - Bhagyalakshmi Nair
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS Health Science Campus, Kochi 682041, Kerala, India
| | - Maneesha Murali
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS Health Science Campus, Kochi 682041, Kerala, India
| | - Lekshmi R Nath
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS Health Science Campus, Kochi 682041, Kerala, India
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9
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Safrastyan A, Wollny D. Network analysis of hepatocellular carcinoma liquid biopsies augmented by single-cell sequencing data. Front Genet 2022; 13:921195. [PMID: 36092896 PMCID: PMC9452847 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.921195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Liquid biopsy, the analysis of body fluids, represents a promising approach for disease diagnosis and prognosis with minimal intervention. Sequencing cell-free RNA derived from liquid biopsies has been very promising for the diagnosis of several diseases. Cancer research, in particular, has emerged as a prominent candidate since early diagnosis has been shown to be a critical determinant of disease prognosis. Although high-throughput analysis of liquid biopsies has uncovered many differentially expressed genes in the context of cancer, the functional connection between these genes is not investigated in depth. An important approach to remedy this issue is the construction of gene networks which describes the correlation patterns between different genes, thereby allowing to infer their functional organization. In this study, we aimed at characterizing extracellular transcriptome gene networks of hepatocellular carcinoma patients compared to healthy controls. Our analysis revealed a number of genes previously associated with hepatocellular carcinoma and uncovered their association network in the blood. Our study thus demonstrates the feasibility of performing gene co-expression network analysis from cell-free RNA data and its utility in studying hepatocellular carcinoma. Furthermore, we augmented cell-free RNA network analysis with single-cell RNA sequencing data which enables the contextualization of the identified network modules with cell-type specific transcriptomes from the liver.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aram Safrastyan
- RNA Bioinformatics and High Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
- Leibniz Institute on Aging-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Jena, Germany
| | - Damian Wollny
- RNA Bioinformatics and High Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
- Leibniz Institute on Aging-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- *Correspondence: Damian Wollny,
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10
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Liu BW, Wang XY, Cao JL, Chen LL, Wang YL, Zhao BQ, Zhou J, Shen ZF. TDP-43 upregulates lipid metabolism modulator ABHD2 to suppress apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Commun Biol 2022; 5:816. [PMID: 35963893 PMCID: PMC9376094 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03788-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
TAR DNA-Binding Protein 43 (TDP-43) has been well studied in neurodegenerative diseases, but its potential role in malignance is still unclear. Here, we demonstrate that TDP-43 contributes to the suppression of apoptosis by facilitating lipid metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In HCC cells, TDP-43 is able to suppress apoptosis while deletion of it markedly induces apoptosis. RNA-sequencing identifies the lipid metabolism gene abhydrolase domain containing 2 (ABHD2) as the target gene of TDP-43. Tissue microarray analysis shows the positive correlation of TDP-43 and ABHD2 in HCC. Mechanistically, TDP-43 binds with the UG-rich sequence1 of ABHD2 3’UTR to enhance the mRNA stability of ABHD2, thereby upregulating ABHD2. Afterwards, TDP-43 promotes the production of free fatty acid and fatty acid oxidation-originated reactive oxygen species (ROS) in an ABHD2-dependent manner, so as to suppress apoptosis of HCC. Our findings provide insights into the mechanism of HCC progression and reveal TDP-43/ABHD2 as potential targets for the precise treatment of HCC. TDP-43 acts as an RNA-binding protein that regulates the RNA stability of ABHD2 and affects the release of fatty acids and ROS, which in turn regulates apoptosis and affects the growth of liver tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo-Wen Liu
- Henan Key Laboratory of Immunology and Targeted Drugs, School of Laboratory Medicine, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, PR China.
| | - Xiang-Yun Wang
- Henan Key Laboratory of Immunology and Targeted Drugs, School of Laboratory Medicine, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, PR China
| | - Jin-Ling Cao
- Henan Key Laboratory of Immunology and Targeted Drugs, School of Laboratory Medicine, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, PR China
| | - Lu-Lu Chen
- Henan Key Laboratory of Immunology and Targeted Drugs, School of Laboratory Medicine, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, PR China
| | - Yi-Lei Wang
- Henan Key Laboratory of Immunology and Targeted Drugs, School of Laboratory Medicine, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, PR China
| | - Bing-Qian Zhao
- Henan Key Laboratory of Immunology and Targeted Drugs, School of Laboratory Medicine, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, PR China
| | - Jia Zhou
- Henan Key Laboratory of Immunology and Targeted Drugs, School of Laboratory Medicine, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, PR China
| | - Zhi-Fa Shen
- Henan Key Laboratory of Immunology and Targeted Drugs, School of Laboratory Medicine, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, PR China.
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11
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Zhang Y, Mezzacappa C, Shen L, Ivatorov A, Petukhova-Greenstein A, Mehta R, Ciarleglio M, Deng Y, Levin W, Steinhardt S, Connery D, Pineau M, Onyiuke I, Taylor C, Rose MG, Taddei TH. Cancer tracking system improves timeliness of liver cancer care at a Veterans Hospital: A comparison of cohorts before and after implementation of an automated care coordination tool. PLOS DIGITAL HEALTH 2022; 1:e0000080. [PMID: 36812575 PMCID: PMC9931271 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) requires complex care coordination. Patient safety may be compromised with untimely follow-up of abnormal liver imaging. This study evaluated whether an electronic case-finding and tracking system improved timeliness of HCC care. METHODS An electronic medical record-linked abnormal imaging identification and tracking system was implemented at a Veterans Affairs Hospital. This system reviews all liver radiology reports, generates a queue of abnormal cases for review, and maintains a queue of cancer care events with due dates and automated reminders. This is a pre-/post-intervention cohort study to evaluate whether implementation of this tracking system reduced time between HCC diagnosis and treatment and time between first liver image suspicious for HCC, specialty care, diagnosis, and treatment at a Veterans Hospital. Patients diagnosed with HCC in the 37 months before tracking system implementation were compared to patients diagnosed with HCC in the 71 months after its implementation. Linear regression was used to calculate mean change in relevant intervals of care adjusted for age, race, ethnicity, BCLC stage, and indication for first suspicious image. RESULTS There were 60 patients pre-intervention and 127 post-intervention. In the post-intervention group, adjusted mean time from diagnosis to treatment was 36 days shorter (p = 0.007), time from imaging to diagnosis 51 days shorter (p = 0.21), and time from imaging to treatment 87 days shorter (p = 0.05). Patients whose imaging was performed for HCC screening had the greatest improvement in time from diagnosis to treatment (63 days, p = 0.02) and from first suspicious image to treatment (179 days, p = 0.03). The post-intervention group also had a greater proportion of HCC diagnosed at earlier BCLC stages (p<0.03). CONCLUSIONS The tracking system improved timeliness of HCC diagnosis and treatment and may be useful for improving HCC care delivery, including in health systems already implementing HCC screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yapei Zhang
- Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Catherine Mezzacappa
- Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Lin Shen
- Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Amanda Ivatorov
- Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Alexandra Petukhova-Greenstein
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Institute of Radiology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rajni Mehta
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Maria Ciarleglio
- Yale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Yanhong Deng
- Yale Center for Analytical Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Woody Levin
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Steve Steinhardt
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Donna Connery
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Michael Pineau
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Ifeyinwa Onyiuke
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Caroline Taylor
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Michal G. Rose
- Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Tamar H. Taddei
- Department of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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12
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Singal AG, Lok AS, Feng Z, Kanwal F, Parikh ND. Conceptual Model for the Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening Continuum: Current Status and Research Agenda. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2022; 20:9-18. [PMID: 32961340 PMCID: PMC8287785 DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2020.09.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) continues to have a dismal prognosis, with 5-year survival below 20%. This poor prognosis can be in part attributed to failures along the cancer screening process continuum such as underuse of screening in at risk patients and appropriate treatments for patients with HCC. Better understanding these process failures, and how they compare to those seen in other cancer types, can help inform potential intervention targets and strategies to reduce HCC-related mortality. Herein, we outline a conceptual model with several discrete steps in the HCC screening process continuum including risk assessment, screening initiation, follow-up of screening results, diagnostic evaluation, and treatment evaluation. The conceptual model illustrates how each step in the screening process is prone to delays or failure, resulting in worse outcomes such as late stage diagnosis or poor survival, and how factors at the patient, provider, and health care system levels can contribute to these failures. We compare cancer screening processes for HCC with those employed in breast and colorectal cancer screening to identify opportunities for improvement. The Translational Liver Cancer consortium was recently established by the National Cancer Institute with the goal of improving early detection of HCC. Studies designed to address failures in the HCC screening process continuum will help accomplish this goal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit G Singal
- Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
| | - Anna S Lok
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Ziding Feng
- Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
| | - Fasiha Kanwal
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
| | - Neehar D Parikh
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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13
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Morega S, Cătălin B, Simionescu CE, Sapalidis K, Rogoveanu I. Cerebrolysin Prevents Brain Injury in a Mouse Model of Liver Damage. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11121622. [PMID: 34942925 PMCID: PMC8699728 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11121622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Liver damage can lead to secondary organ damage by toxic substances and catabolic products accumulation which can increase the permeability of blood-brain barrier, leading to cognitive impairment. The only real treatment for end stage liver failure is grafting. With some, but not all, neurological symptoms subsiding after transplantation, the presence of brain damage can impair both the short and long-term outcome. We tested if Cerebrolysin can prevent brain injury in an experimental model of non-viral liver damage in mice. Behavior, abdominal ultrasound evaluation and immunohistochemistry were used to evaluate the animals. No ultrasound or behavior differences were found between the control and treated animals, with both groups displaying more anxiety and no short-term memory benefit compared to sham mice. Cerebrolysin treatment was able to maintain a normal level of cortical NeuN+ cells and induced an increase in the area occupied by BrdU+ cells. Surprisingly, no difference was observed when investigating Iba1+ cells. With neurological complications of end-stage liver disease impacting the rehabilitation of patients receiving liver grafts, a neuroprotective treatment of patients on the waiting lists might improve their rehabilitation outcome by ensuring a minimal cerebral damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shandiz Morega
- U.M.F. Doctoral School Craiova, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
| | - Bogdan Cătălin
- Experimental Research Centre for Normal and Pathological Aging, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania
- Correspondence: (B.C.); (C.E.S.)
| | - Cristiana Eugenia Simionescu
- Department of Pathology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania
- Correspondence: (B.C.); (C.E.S.)
| | - Konstantinos Sapalidis
- 3rd Department of Surgery, AHEPA University Hospital, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
| | - Ion Rogoveanu
- Gastroenterology Department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
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14
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Ehab J, Powers B, Kim R, Haider M, Utuama O, Chin A, Denbo J, Kis B, Frakes J, Jeong D, Lauwers G, Vadaparampil S, Fleming JB, Anaya DA. Integrating a Disease-Focused Tumor Board as a Delivery-of-Care Model to Expedite Treatment Initiation for Patients With Liver Malignancies. Ann Surg Oncol 2021; 29:2371-2380. [PMID: 34671878 DOI: 10.1245/s10434-021-10909-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with hepatobiliary malignancies are especially vulnerable to treatment delays. This study sought to evaluate the impact of implementing a new delivery-of-care model centered around a hepatobiliary multidisciplinary tumor board (HB-MTB) and integrated with an optimized patient workflow process to expedite treatment initiation. METHODS A hybrid type 2 study (effectiveness-implementation) was performed. Implementation measures were examined prospectively using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) approach during 5 years after the HB-MTB program deployment (2015-2020). The primary outcome was effectiveness, measured as time to treatment initiation (TTI) using a before and after design (1 year each). The patients were grouped into before (BP) and after (AP) categories based on date of HB-MTB program implementation. Multivariable Cox and linear regression analyses were performed to examine and compare time to treatment initiation between groups. RESULTS The HB-MTB program enrolled 2457 patients (reach). The RE-AIM measures were favorable and improved over time (P < 0.01 for all). The median TTI was lower for the AP group than for the BP group (17 vs 24 days; P < 0.01). In the multivariable Cox and linear regressions, treatment in the AP group was associated with a faster TTI (hazard ratio, 1.75; 95 % confidence interval, 1.31-2.35; p < 0.01), and a mean of 13 days faster treatment initiation than the BP group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Implementation of an HB-MTB program integrated with an optimized patient workflow was successful and led to faster treatment initiation. This delivery-of-care model can serve as a blueprint to expedite treatment of patients with cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmina Ehab
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Benjamin Powers
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Richard Kim
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Mintallah Haider
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Ovie Utuama
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Alicia Chin
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Jason Denbo
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Bela Kis
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.,Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Jessica Frakes
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.,Department of Radiation Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Daniel Jeong
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.,Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Gregory Lauwers
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.,Department of Pathology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Susan Vadaparampil
- Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Jason B Fleming
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Daniel A Anaya
- Section of Hepatobiliary Tumors, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA. .,Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA.
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15
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Kronenfeld JP, Goel N. An Analysis of Individual and Contextual-Level Disparities in Screening, Treatment, and Outcomes for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Hepatocell Carcinoma 2021; 8:1209-1219. [PMID: 34611524 PMCID: PMC8487287 DOI: 10.2147/jhc.s284430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of the liver and affects patients of all genders, races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status. While the causes of HCC are numerous, the primary etiology is cirrhosis from alcohol and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in the United States and from infectious agents such as Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in the developing world. In patients at-risk for developing HCC, screening is recommended with ultrasound imaging and alpha fetoprotein laboratory tests. In socioeconomically vulnerable patients, however, individual-level barriers (eg, insurance status) and contextual-level disparities (eg, health facilities) may not be readily available, thus limiting screening. Additional challenges faced by racial/ethnic minorities can further challenge the spectrum of HCC care and lead to inadequate screening, delayed diagnosis, and unequal access to treatment. Efforts to improve these multilevel factors that lead to screening and treatment disparities are critical to overcoming challenges. Providing health insurance to those without access, improving societal challenges that confine patients to a lower socioeconomic status, and reducing challenges to seeking healthcare can decrease the morbidity and mortality of these patients. Additionally, engaging with communities and allowing them to collaborate in their own healthcare can also help to attenuate these inequities. Through collaborative multidisciplinary change, we can make progress in tackling disparities in vulnerable populations to achieve health equity
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua P Kronenfeld
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Neha Goel
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
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16
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Li B, Zhao Y, Cai W, Ming A, Li H. Validation and update of a multivariable prediction model for the identification and management of patients at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma. Clin Proteomics 2021; 18:21. [PMID: 34412596 PMCID: PMC8374120 DOI: 10.1186/s12014-021-09326-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background A hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prediction model (ASAP), including age, sex, and the biomarkers alpha-fetoprotein and prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence-II, showed potential clinical value in the early detection of HCC. We validated and updated the model in a real-world cohort and promoted its transferability to daily clinical practice. Methods This retrospective cohort analysis included 1012 of the 2479 eligible patients aged 35 years or older undergoing surveillance for HCC. The data were extracted from the electronic medical records. Biomarker values within the test-to-diagnosis interval were used to validate the ASAP model. Due to its unsatisfactory calibration, three logistic regression models were constructed to recalibrate and update the model. Their discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility were compared. The performance statistics of the final updated model at several risk thresholds are presented. The outcomes of 855 non-HCC patients were further assessed during a median of 10.2 months of follow-up. Statistical analyses were performed using packages in R software. Results The ASAP model had superior discriminative performance in the validation cohort [C-statistic = 0.982, (95% confidence interval 0.972–0.992)] but significantly overestimated the risk of HCC (intercept − 3.243 and slope 1.192 in the calibration plot), reducing its clinical usefulness. Recalibration-in-the-large, which exhibited performance comparable to that of the refitted model revision, led to the retention of the excellent discrimination and substantial improvements in the calibration and clinical utility, achieving a sensitivity of 100% at the median prediction probability of the absence of HCC (1.3%). The probability threshold of 1.3% and the incidence of HCC in the cohort (15.5%) were used to stratify the patients into low-, medium-, and high-risk groups. The cumulative HCC incidences in the non-HCC patients significantly differed among the risk groups (log-rank test, p-value < 0.001). The 3-month, 6-month and 18-month cumulative incidences in the low-risk group were 0.6%, 0.9% and 0.9%, respectively. Conclusions The ASAP model is an accurate tool for HCC risk estimation that requires recalibration before use in a new region because calibration varies with clinical environments. Additionally, rational risk stratification and risk-based management decision-making, e.g., 3-month follow-up recommendations for targeted individuals, helped improve HCC surveillance, which warrants assessment in larger cohorts. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12014-021-09326-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Li
- Clinical Laboratory, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hubei Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
| | - Youyun Zhao
- Clinical Laboratory, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hubei Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
| | - Wangxi Cai
- Clinical Laboratory, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hubei Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
| | - Anping Ming
- Clinical Laboratory, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hubei Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China
| | - Hanmin Li
- Institute of Hepatology, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hubei Province Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China. .,Theory and Application Research of Liver and Kidney in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory, Cell Molecular Biology Laboratory, Level 3 Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 4 Huayuanshan, Yanzhi Road, Liangdao Street, Wuchang District, Hubei, 430061, Wuhan, China.
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17
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Choi DT, Davila JA, Sansgiry S, David E, Singh H, El-Serag HB, Sada YHF. Factors Associated With Delay of Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients With Cirrhosis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2021; 19:1679-1687. [PMID: 32693047 PMCID: PMC7855025 DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2020.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS We examined the frequency of and factors associated with delays in diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a cohort of patients with cirrhosis in the Veterans Health Administration. METHODS In a retrospective study, we collected and analyzed data from the Veterans Health Administration's electronic health records. We used a multivariate logistic regression model to identify factors associated with a delay in diagnosis of HCC of more than 60 days following a red flag (defined as the earliest date at which a diagnosis of HCC could have been made, based on American Association for the Study of Liver Disease 2005 guidelines). We used multivariate Cox proportional hazards model to evaluate the effects of delayed diagnosis on survival, adjusting for patient and provider characteristics. RESULTS Among 655 patients with cirrhosis and a diagnosis of HCC from 2006 through 2011, 46.9% had a delay in diagnosis of more than 60 days following a red flag for HCC. Delays in diagnosis for more than 60 days were significantly associated with lack of provider adherence to the guidelines (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 4.82; 95% CI, 3.12-7.45), a diagnostic imaging evaluation instead of only measurement of alfa fetoprotein (adjusted OR, 2.63; 95% CI, 1.09-6.24), and diagnosis as an incidental finding during examination for an unrelated medical problem (compared with an HCC-related assessment) (adjusted OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.09-4.67). Diagnostic delays of 60 days or more were associated with lower mortality compared to patients without a delay in diagnosis (unadjusted hazard ratio, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.47-0.68 and adjusted hazard ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.50-0.78). CONCLUSIONS Nearly half of veterans with cirrhosis have delays in diagnosis of HCC of 60 days or more after a red flag, defined by guidelines. Interventions are needed to improve timely follow-up of red flags for HCC and adherence to guidelines, to increase early detection of HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debra T. Choi
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX,Section of Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
| | - Jessica A. Davila
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX,Section of Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
| | - Shubhada Sansgiry
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX,Veterans Affairs South Central Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Houston, TX,Section of Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
| | - Eric David
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX
| | - Hardeep Singh
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX,Section of Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
| | - Hashem B. El-Serag
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX,Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX,Section of Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
| | - Yvonne Hsiao-Fan Sada
- Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX,Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX,Section of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
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18
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Shahrisa A, Tahmasebi-Birgani M, Ansari H, Mohammadi Z, Carloni V, Mohammadi Asl J. The pattern of gene copy number alteration (CNAs) in hepatocellular carcinoma: an in silico analysis. Mol Cytogenet 2021; 14:33. [PMID: 34215297 PMCID: PMC8254242 DOI: 10.1186/s13039-021-00553-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer that occurs predominantly in patients with previous liver conditions. In the absence of an ideal screening modality, HCC is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. Recent studies show that loss or gain of genomic materials can activate the oncogenes or inactivate the tumor suppressor genes to predispose cells toward carcinogenesis. Here, we evaluated both the copy number alteration (CNA) and RNA sequencing data of 361 HCC samples in order to locate the frequently altered chromosomal regions and identify the affected genes. RESULTS Our data show that the chr1q and chr8p are two hotspot regions for genomic amplifications and deletions respectively. Among the amplified genes, YY1AP1 (chr1q22) possessed the largest correlation between CNA and gene expression. Moreover, it showed a positive correlation between CNA and tumor grade. Regarding deleted genes, CHMP7 (chr8p21.3) possessed the largest correlation between CNA and gene expression. Protein products of both genes interact with other cellular proteins to carry out various functional roles. These include ASH1L, ZNF496, YY1, ZMYM4, CHMP4A, CHMP5, CHMP2A and CHMP3, some of which are well-known cancer-related genes. CONCLUSIONS Our in-silico analysis demonstrates the importance of copy number alterations in the pathology of HCC. These findings open a door for future studies that evaluate our results by performing additional experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arman Shahrisa
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Tahmasebi-Birgani
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Medical Basic Sciences Research Institute, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
| | - Hossein Ansari
- Department of Biotechnology, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Zahra Mohammadi
- School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Vinicio Carloni
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Javad Mohammadi Asl
- Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
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19
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Wong VCL, Wong MI, Lam CT, Lung ML, Lam KO, Lee VHF. Hallmark microRNA signature in liquid biopsy identifies hepatocellular carcinoma and differentiates it from liver metastasis. J Cancer 2021; 12:4585-4594. [PMID: 34149922 PMCID: PMC8210546 DOI: 10.7150/jca.59933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to develop a liquid biopsy assay to identify HCC and differentially diagnose hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from colorectal carcinoma (CRC) liver metastasis. Methods: Thirty-two microRNAs (“HallMark-32” panel) were designed to target the ten cancer hallmarks in HCC. Quantitative PCR and supervised machine learning models were applied to develop an HCC-specific diagnostic model. One hundred thirty-three plasma samples from intermediate-stage HCC patients, colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with liver metastasis, and healthy individuals were examined. Results: Six differentially expressed microRNAs (“Signature-Six” panel) were identified after comparing HCC and healthy individuals. The microRNA miR-221-3p, miR-223-3p, miR-26a-5p, and miR-30c-5p were significantly down-regulated in the plasma of HCC samples, while miR-365a-3p and miR-423-3p were significantly up-regulated. Machine learning models combined with HallMark-32 and Signature-Six panels demonstrated promising performance with an AUC of 0.85-0.96 (p ≤ 0.018) and 0.84-0.93 (p ≤ 0.021), respectively. Further modeling improvement by adjusting sample quality variation in the HallMark-32 panel boosted the accuracy to 95% ± 0.01 and AUC to 0.991 (95% CI 0.96-1, p = 0.001), respectively. Even in alpha fetoprotein (AFP)-negative (< 20ng/mL) HCC samples, HallMark-32 still achieved 100% sensitivity in identifying HCC. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA, n=372) analysis demonstrated a significant association between HallMark-32 and HCC patient survival. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to utilize circulating miRNAs and machine learning to differentiate HCC from CRC liver metastasis. In this setting, HallMark-32 and Signature-Six are promising non-invasive tests for HCC differential diagnosis and distinguishing HCC from healthy individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Chun-Lam Wong
- OncoSeek Limited, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China
| | - Ming-In Wong
- OncoSeek Limited, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China
| | - Chi-Tat Lam
- OncoSeek Limited, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China
| | - Maria Li Lung
- Department of Clinical Oncology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China
| | - Ka-On Lam
- Department of Clinical Oncology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China
| | - Victor Ho-Fun Lee
- Department of Clinical Oncology, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China
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20
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Nguyen ALT, Nguyen HTT, Yee KC, Palmer AJ, Blizzard CL, de Graaff B. A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of Health Economic Evaluations of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening Strategies. VALUE IN HEALTH : THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PHARMACOECONOMICS AND OUTCOMES RESEARCH 2021; 24:733-743. [PMID: 33933243 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2020.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Many economic evaluations of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screenings have been conducted; however, these vary substantially with regards to screening strategies, patient group, and setting. This review aims to report the current knowledge of the cost-effectiveness of screening and describe the published data. METHODS We conducted a search of biomedical and health economic databases up to July 2020. We included full and partial health economic studies if they evaluated the costs or outcomes of HCC screening strategies. RESULTS The review included 43 studies. Due to significant heterogeneity in key aspects across the studies, a narrative synthesis was conducted. Most studies reported using ultrasound or alpha fetoprotein as screening strategies. Screening intervals were mostly annual or biannual. Incidence, diagnostic performance, and health state utility values were the most critical parameters affecting the cost-effectiveness of screening. The majority of studies reported HCC screening to be cost-effective, with the biannual ultrasound + alpha fetoprotein standing out as the most cost-effective strategy. However, few studies considered the utilization rate, and none considered the diagnostic performance of ultrasound in the context of central adiposity. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were also evaluated, but its cost-effectiveness was still controversial. CONCLUSIONS Although many studies suggested HCC screening was cost-effective, substantial limitations of the quality of these studies means the results should be interpreted with caution. Future modeling studies should consider the impact of central adiposity on the precision of ultrasound, real-world utilization rates and projections of increased HCC incidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anh Le Tuan Nguyen
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Hoa Thi Thu Nguyen
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Kwang Chien Yee
- School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Andrew J Palmer
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia; Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Barbara de Graaff
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
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Aghabi YO, Yasin A, Kennedy JI, Davies SP, Butler AE, Stamataki Z. Targeting Enclysis in Liver Autoimmunity, Transplantation, Viral Infection and Cancer. Front Immunol 2021; 12:662134. [PMID: 33953725 PMCID: PMC8089374 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.662134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Persistent liver inflammation can lead to cirrhosis, which associates with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. There are no curative treatments beyond transplantation, followed by long-term immunosuppression. The global burden of end stage liver disease has been increasing and there is a shortage of donor organs, therefore new therapies are desperately needed. Harnessing the power of the immune system has shown promise in certain autoimmunity and cancer settings. In the context of the liver, regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies are in development. The hypothesis is that these specialized lymphocytes that dampen inflammation may reduce liver injury in patients with chronic, progressive diseases, and promote transplant tolerance. Various strategies including intrinsic and extracorporeal expansion of Treg cells, aim to increase their abundance to suppress immune responses. We recently discovered that hepatocytes engulf and delete Treg cells by enclysis. Herein, we propose that inhibition of enclysis may potentiate existing regulatory T cell therapeutic approaches in patients with autoimmune liver diseases and in patients receiving a transplant. Moreover, in settings where the abundance of Treg cells could hinder beneficial immunity, such us in chronic viral infection or liver cancer, enhancement of enclysis could result in transient, localized reduction of Treg cell numbers and tip the balance towards antiviral and anti-tumor immunity. We describe enclysis as is a natural process of liver immune regulation that lends itself to therapeutic targeting, particularly in combination with current Treg cell approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Zania Stamataki
- College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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22
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Kronenfeld JP, Ryon EL, Goldberg D, Lee RM, Yopp A, Wang A, Lee AY, Luu S, Hsu C, Silberfein E, Russell MC, Livingstone AS, Merchant NB, Goel N. Disparities in Presentation at Time of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Diagnosis: A United States Safety-Net Collaborative Study. Ann Surg Oncol 2020; 28:1929-1936. [PMID: 32975686 DOI: 10.1245/s10434-020-09156-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND While hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is ideally diagnosed outpatient by screening at-risk patients, many are diagnosed in Emergency Departments (ED) due to undiagnosed liver disease and/or limited access-to-healthcare. This study aims to identify sociodemographic/clinical factors associated with being diagnosed with HCC in the ED to identify patients who may benefit from improved access-to-care. METHODS HCC patients diagnosed between 2012 and 2014 in the ED or an outpatient setting [Primary Care Physician (PCP) or hepatologist] were identified from the US Safety-Net Collaborative database and underwent retrospective chart-review. Multivariable regression identified predictors for an ED diagnosis. RESULTS Among 1620 patients, median age was 60, 68% were diagnosed outpatient, and 32% were diagnosed in the ED. ED patients were more likely male, Black/Hispanic, uninsured, and presented with more decompensated liver disease, aggressive features, and advanced clinical stage. On multivariable regression, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, poverty, insurance, and PCP/navigator access, predictors for ED diagnosis were male (odds ratio [OR] 1.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-2.2, p = 0.010), black (OR 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.3, p = 0.002), Hispanic (OR 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1-2.6, p = 0.029), > 25% below poverty line (OR 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1-1.9, p = 0.019), uninsured (OR 3.9, 95% CI: 2.4-6.1, p < 0.001), and lack of PCP (OR 2.3, 95% CI: 1.5-3.6, p < 0.001) or navigator (OR 1.8, 95% CI: 1.3-2.5, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The sociodemographic/clinical profile of patients diagnosed with HCC in EDs differs significantly from those diagnosed outpatient. ED patients were more likely racial/ethnic minorities, uninsured, and had limited access to healthcare. This study highlights the importance of improved access-to-care in already vulnerable populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua P Kronenfeld
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Emily L Ryon
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - David Goldberg
- Division of Digestive Health and Liver Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Rachel M Lee
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Adam Yopp
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Annie Wang
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ann Y Lee
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sommer Luu
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Cary Hsu
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Eric Silberfein
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Maria C Russell
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Alan S Livingstone
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Nipun B Merchant
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Neha Goel
- Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
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Harmon JN, Kabinejadian F, Bull JL. Combined gas embolization and chemotherapy can result in complete tumor regression in a murine hepatocellular carcinoma model. APL Bioeng 2020; 4:036106. [PMID: 32923844 PMCID: PMC7481009 DOI: 10.1063/5.0005329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an intractable cancer with a high mortality rate. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), a non-curative method, is the first line therapy for intermediate stage patients. This effectively extends patient survival but requires a complicated intraarterial catheterization procedure and is poorly suited to repeated administration. Here, we investigate gas chemoembolization, a less invasive, more easily administered transient occlusion method that circumvents these limitations. We examined the efficacy of repeated embolization combined with systemically administered doxorubicin, the most common chemotherapeutic in TACE, or tirapazamine, a hypoxia-activated cytotoxic agent, in an ectopic xenograft model of HCC. Emboli were generated in situ using acoustic droplet vaporization, the noninvasive focused ultrasound-mediated conversion of intravenously administered perfluorocarbon microdroplets into microbubbles. Gas embolization alone significantly reduced the Ki67 index and tumor viability (11.6 ± 6.71% non-necrotic vs 100% in control; p < 0.01) after 3 treatments, as assessed by histological analysis. Mice treated for three weeks exhibited significant tumor regression compared to control (23.8 ± 5.37% of initial volume vs 427 ± 49.7% in controls, p < 0.01), irrespective of the chosen chemotherapeutic agent. However, an additional three weeks of monitoring post-treatment elucidated a significant difference in the tumor recurrence rate, with combined gas embolization and doxorubicin resulting in the best treatment outcomes (60% complete regression). While doxorubicin administration resulted in significant cardiotoxicity (p < 0.01), it strongly interacted with the droplet shells, reducing the systemic dose by 11.4%. Overall, gas chemoembolization shows promise as a developmental therapy and merits further study in more complex tumor models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer N. Harmon
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA
| | - Foad Kabinejadian
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA
| | - Joseph L. Bull
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA
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Onyirioha K, Mittal S, G Singal A. Is hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in high-risk populations effective? Hepat Oncol 2020; 7:HEP25. [PMID: 32774835 PMCID: PMC7399579 DOI: 10.2217/hep-2020-0012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Several professional societies recommend hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance in high-risk patients including patients with cirrhosis from any etiology and subsets of noncirrhotic chronic hepatitis B virus infection. The efficacy of HCC surveillance to increase early detection and improve survival has been demonstrated in a large randomized controlled trial among hepatitis B virus patients and several cohort studies among those with cirrhosis. However, the effectiveness on HCC surveillance, when applied in clinical practice, is lower due to low utilization of HCC surveillance among at-risk patients, poorer test performance given operator dependency and differences in patient characteristics, and downstream process failures such as treatment delays. Interventions to increase surveillance utilization and improve surveillance test performance should improve surveillance effectiveness in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristeen Onyirioha
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Sukul Mittal
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Amit G Singal
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
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Sugar Alcohols Have a Key Role in Pathogenesis of Chronic Liver Disease and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Whole Blood and Liver Tissues. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12020484. [PMID: 32092943 PMCID: PMC7072169 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12020484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2019] [Revised: 02/15/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The major risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are hepatitis C and B viral infections that proceed to Chronic Liver Disease (CLD). Yet, the early diagnosis and treatment of HCC are challenging because the pathogenesis of HCC is not fully defined. To better understand the onset and development of HCC, untargeted GC-TOF MS metabolomics data were acquired from resected human HCC tissues and their paired non-tumor hepatic tissues (n = 46). Blood samples of the same HCC subjects (n = 23) were compared to CLD (n = 15) and healthy control (n = 15) blood samples. The participants were recruited from the National Liver Institute in Egypt. The GC-TOF MS data yielded 194 structurally annotated compounds. The most strikingly significant alteration was found for the class of sugar alcohols that were up-regulated in blood of HCC patients compared to CLD subjects (p < 2.4 × 10−12) and CLD compared to healthy controls (p = 4.1 × 10−7). In HCC tissues, sugar alcohols were the most significant (p < 1 × 10−6) class differentiating resected HCC tissues from non-malignant hepatic tissues for all HCC patients. Alteration of sugar alcohol levels in liver tissues also defined early-stage HCC from their paired non-malignant hepatic tissues (p = 2.7 × 10−6). In blood, sugar alcohols differentiated HCC from CLD subjects with an ROC-curve of 0.875 compared to 0.685 for the classic HCC biomarker alpha-fetoprotein. Blood sugar alcohol levels steadily increased from healthy controls to CLD to early stages of HCC and finally, to late-stage HCC patients. The increase in sugar alcohol levels indicates a role of aldo-keto reductases in the pathogenesis of HCC, possibly opening novel diagnostic and therapeutic options after in-depth validation.
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26
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Lee Y, Kwon YH. Regulation of apoptosis and autophagy by luteolin in human hepatocellular cancer Hep3B cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2019; 517:617-622. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2019.07.073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2019] [Accepted: 07/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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Comparison of Models for Tumor Recurrence after Liver Transplantation for the Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multicenter Long-Term Follow-Up Study. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11091295. [PMID: 31484287 PMCID: PMC6769632 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11091295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Several models have been developed to predict tumor the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation besides the conventional Milan criteria (MC), including the MoRAL score. This study aimed to compare the prognostication power of the MoRAL score to most models designed so far in the Eastern and Western countries. METHODS This study included 564 patients who underwent living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in three large-volume hospitals in Korea. The primary and secondary endpoints were time-to-recurrence, and overall survival (OS), respectively. The performance of the MoRAL score was compared with those of other various Liver transplantation (LT) criteria, including the Milan criteria, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) criteria, up-to-seven criteria, Kyoto criteria, AFP model, total tumor volume/AFP criteria, Metroticket 2.0 model, and Weill Cornell Medical College group model. RESULTS The median follow-up duration was 78.1 months. Among all models assessed, the MoRAL score showed the best discrimination function for predicting the risk of tumor recurrence after LT, with c-index of 0.78, compared to other models (all p < 0.001). The MoRAL score also represented the best calibration function by Hosmer-Lemeshow test (p = 0.15). Especially in the beyond-MC sub-cohort, the MoRAL score predicted tumor recurrence (c-index, 0.80) and overall survival (OS) (c-index, 0.70) significantly better than any other models (all p < 0.001). When the MoRAL score was low (<314.8), the five-year cumulative risks of tumor recurrence and death were excellent in beyond-MC (27.8%, and 20.5%, respectively) and within-MC (16.3%, and 21.1%, respectively) sub-cohorts. CONCLUSIONS The MoRAL score provides the most refined prognostication for predicting HCC recurrence after LDLT.
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28
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Kanwal F, Singal AG. Surveillance for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Current Best Practice and Future Direction. Gastroenterology 2019; 157:54-64. [PMID: 30986389 PMCID: PMC6636644 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2019.02.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 278] [Impact Index Per Article: 55.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Revised: 02/14/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular cancer (HCC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and the fastest growing cause of cancer deaths in the United States. The overall prognosis of HCC remains dismal, except for the subset of patients who are diagnosed at early stage and receive potentially curative therapies, such as surgical resection and liver transplantation. Given this, expert society guidelines recommend HCC surveillance every 6 months in at-risk individuals. Despite these recommendations, the effectiveness of HCC surveillance remains a subject of debate. We discuss current best practices for HCC surveillance and the evidence that support these recommendations. We also describe several initiatives that are underway to improve HCC surveillance and outline areas that may serve as high-yield targets for future research. Overall, we believe these efforts will help the field move toward precision surveillance, where surveillance tests and intervals are tailored to individual HCC risk. Doing so can maximize surveillance benefits, minimize surveillance harms, and optimize overall value for all patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fasiha Kanwal
- Sections of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; Health Services Research, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; Center of Innovation, Effectiveness and Quality, Houston, Texas.
| | - Amit G. Singal
- Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
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29
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Rich NE, Hester C, Odewole M, Murphy CC, Parikh ND, Marrero JA, Yopp AC, Singal AG. Racial and Ethnic Differences in Presentation and Outcomes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2019; 17:551-559.e1. [PMID: 29859983 PMCID: PMC6274621 DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2018.05.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2017] [Revised: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/24/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Racial and ethnic minorities are reported to have higher mortality related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than non-Hispanic whites. However, it is not clear whether differences in tumor characteristics or liver dysfunction among racial or ethnic groups affect characterization of causes for this disparity. We aimed to characterize racial and ethnic differences in HCC presentation, treatment, and survival. METHODS We performed a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with HCC from January 2008 through July 2017 at 2 large health systems in the United States. We used multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models to identify factors associated with receipt of curative therapy and overall survival. RESULTS Among 1117 patients with HCC (35.9% white, 34.3% black, 29.7% Hispanic), 463 (41.5%) were diagnosed with early stage HCC (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage 0/A) and 322 (28.8%) underwent curative treatment. Hispanic (odds ratio [OR], 0.75; 95% CI, 0.55-1.00) and black patients (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.56-0.98) were less likely to be diagnosed with early stage HCC than white patients. Among patients with early stage HCC, Hispanics were less likely to undergo curative treatment than whites (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.36-0.91). Black patients with early stage HCC were also less likely to undergo curative treatment than white patients, but this difference was not statistically significant (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.43-1.03). Black and Hispanic patients had shorter median survival times than white patients (10.6 and 14.4 mo vs 16.3 mo). After adjusting for type of medical insurance, Child-Pugh class, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage, and receipt of HCC treatment, black patients had significantly higher mortality (hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.10-1.14) and Hispanic patients had lower mortality (hazard ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.74-0.94) than white patients. CONCLUSIONS In a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with HCC, we found racial/ethnic differences in outcomes of HCC to be associated with differences in detection of tumors at early stages and receipt of curative treatment. These factors are intervention targets for improving patient outcomes and reducing disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole E. Rich
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas, TX
| | - Caitlin Hester
- Department of Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX
| | - Mobolaji Odewole
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas, TX
| | - Caitlin C. Murphy
- Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX
| | - Neehar D. Parikh
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Jorge A. Marrero
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas, TX
| | - Adam C. Yopp
- Department of Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX
| | - Amit G. Singal
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas, TX,Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX
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Singal AG, Tiro JA, Murphy CC, Marrero JA, McCallister K, Fullington H, Mejias C, Waljee AK, Bishop WP, Santini NO, Halm EA. Mailed Outreach Invitations Significantly Improve HCC Surveillance Rates in Patients With Cirrhosis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Hepatology 2019; 69:121-130. [PMID: 30070379 PMCID: PMC6324997 DOI: 10.1002/hep.30129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance is associated with early tumor detection and improved survival in patients with cirrhosis; however, effectiveness is limited by underuse. We compared the effectiveness of mailed outreach and patient navigation strategies to increase HCC surveillance in a racially diverse cohort of patients with cirrhosis. We conducted a pragmatic randomized clinical trial comparing mailed outreach for screening ultrasound (n = 600), mailed outreach plus patient navigation (n = 600), or usual care with visit-based screening (n = 600) among 1800 patients with cirrhosis at a large safety-net health system from December 2014 to March 2017. Patients who did not respond to outreach invitations within 2 weeks received reminder telephone calls. Patient navigation included an assessment of barriers to surveillance and encouragement of surveillance participation. The primary outcome was HCC surveillance (abdominal imaging every 6 months) over an 18-month period. All 1800 patients were included in intention-to-screen analyses. HCC surveillance was performed in 23.3% of outreach/navigation patients, 17.8% of outreach-alone patients, and 7.3% of usual care patients. HCC surveillance was 16.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 12.0%-20.0%) and 10.5% (95% CI: 6.8%-14.2%) higher in outreach groups than usual care (P < 0.001 for both) and 5.5% (95% CI: 0.9%-10.1%) higher for outreach/navigation than outreach alone (P = 0.02). Both interventions increased HCC surveillance across predefined patient subgroups. The proportion of HCC patients detected at an early stage did not differ between groups; however, a higher proportion of patients with screen-detected HCC across groups had early-stage tumors than those with HCC detected incidentally or symptomatically (83.3% versus 30.8%, P = 0.003). Conclusion: Mailed outreach invitations and navigation significantly increased HCC surveillance versus usual care in patients with cirrhosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit G. Singal
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Parkland Health & Hospital System, Dallas, TX
- Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Jasmin A. Tiro
- Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Caitlin C. Murphy
- Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Jorge A. Marrero
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | | | - Hannah Fullington
- Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Caroline Mejias
- Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Akbar K. Waljee
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- VA Center for Clinical Management Research, Ann Arbor, MI
- Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Wendy Pechero Bishop
- Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Noel O. Santini
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Parkland Health & Hospital System, Dallas, TX
| | - Ethan A. Halm
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Parkland Health & Hospital System, Dallas, TX
- Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
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Parikh ND, Zhang P, Singal AG, Derstine BA, Krishnamurthy V, Barman P, Waljee AK, Su GL. Body Composition Predicts Survival in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Transarterial Chemoembolization. Cancer Res Treat 2018; 50:530-537. [PMID: 28602057 PMCID: PMC5912126 DOI: 10.4143/crt.2017.156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Accepted: 05/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is often uncertain. We aimed to utilize analytic morphomics, a high-throughput imaging analysis, to assess if body composition is predictive of post-TACE survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS We included patients from a single center (Ann Arbor VA)who had TACE as the primary treatment forHCC and had a pre-treatment computed tomography scans. Univariate analysis and multivariate conditional inference tree analysis were utilized to identify the morphomic characteristics predictive of 1-year survival. Results were validated in an external cohort(University of MichiganHealth System) ofHCC patientswho underwent TACE as their primary treatment. RESULTS In the 75 patients in the derivation cohort, median survival was 439 (interquartile range, 377 to 685) days from receipt of TACE, with 1-year survival of 61%. Visceral fat density (VFD) was the only morphomic factor predictive of overall and 1-year survival (p < 0.001). Patients with VFD above the 56th percentile had a 1-year survival of 39% versus 78% for those below the 56th percentile. VFD also correlated with 1-year survival in the external validation cohort (44% vs. 72%, p < 0.001). In a secondary analysis, patients with higher VFD were significantly more likely to experience hepatic decompensation after TACE (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION VFD served as an objective predictor of mortality in patients undergoing TACE, possibly through its ability to predict hepatic decompensation. VFD may serve as a radiographic biomarker in predicting TACE outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neehar D. Parikh
- Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Peng Zhang
- Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Morphomic Analysis Group, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Amit G. Singal
- Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Brian A. Derstine
- Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Morphomic Analysis Group, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | - Pranab Barman
- Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Akbar K. Waljee
- Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Veterans Affairs Center for Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Grace L. Su
- Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Morphomic Analysis Group, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Costentin C, Ganne-Carrié N, Rousseau B, Gérolami R, Barbare JC. [Care pathway of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in France: State of play in 2017]. Bull Cancer 2017; 104:752-761. [PMID: 28751065 DOI: 10.1016/j.bulcan.2017.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2017] [Revised: 06/02/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma is a major public health problem with one of the highest overall mortality compared to other cancers. The median overall survival in France in a hospital population with hepatocellular carcinoma is 9.4 months. Several publications reported a positive impact of hepatocellular carcinoma screening on diagnosis at an early-stage, eligibility for curative treatment and overall survival. However, the identification of patients to be included in a hepatocellular carcinoma screening program and the application of screening recommendations are not optimal. Other studies suggest a potentially negative impact of delayed diagnosis or treatment initiation on the patient's prognosis. Finally, marked variations between French regions and departments have been described in terms of access to curative treatment and overall survival. In this review article, we propose a state of play of the hepatocellular carcinoma patient's care pathway in France with the aim of identifying potential breaking points with negative impact on prognosis and of developing proposals for improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Costentin
- AP-HP, hôpital Henri-Mondor, service d'hépatologie, 51, avenue du Maréchal-de-Lattre-de-Tassigny, 94000 Créteil, France.
| | - Nathalie Ganne-Carrié
- AP-HP, hôpital Jean-Verdier, service d'hépatologie, avenue du 14-Juillet, 93140 Bondy, France
| | - Benoit Rousseau
- AP-HP, hôpital Henri-Mondor, institut Mondor de recherche biomédicale, service d'oncologie médicale, Inserm U955 Équipe 18, 51, avenue du Maréchal-de-Lattre-de-Tassigny, 94000 Créteil, France
| | - René Gérolami
- Hôpital de la Timone, service d'hepato-gastro-entérologie, 264, rue Saint-Pierre, 13385 Marseille, France
| | - Jean-Claude Barbare
- CHU d'Amiens, délégation à la recherche clinique et à l'innovation, site sud, 80054 Amiens cedex 1, France
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Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) typically occurs in patients with advanced liver disease, so therapeutic decisions must account for the degree of underlying liver dysfunction and patient performance status in addition to tumor burden. Curative treatment options, including liver transplantation, surgical resection, and local ablative therapies, offer 5-year survival rates exceeding 60% but are restricted to patients with early-stage HCC. Surgical resection and local ablative therapies are also limited by high recurrence rates, highlighting a need for adjuvant and/or neoadjuvant therapies. A majority of patients with HCC are diagnosed beyond an early stage, when the tumor is no longer amenable to curative options. For patients with liver-localized HCC in whom curative options are not possible, transarterial therapies, either chemoembolization or radioembolization, can prolong survival but are rarely curative. Sorafenib and regorafenib are the only approved first-line and second-line systemic therapies, respectively, with a survival benefit for patients with advanced HCC; however, the benefit is primarily observed in patients with intact liver function and good performance status. There are several ongoing phase II and III trials evaluating novel systemic therapies, including immunotherapies. Patients with poor performance status or severe hepatic dysfunction do not derive any survival benefit from HCC-directed therapy and have a median survival of approximately 6 months. These patients should be treated with best supportive care, with a focus on maximizing quality of life. Multidisciplinary care has been shown to improve appropriateness of treatment decisions and overall survival and should be considered standard of care for patients with HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole E. Rich
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Adam C. Yopp
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Amit G. Singal
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
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Atiq O, Tiro J, Yopp AC, Muffler A, Marrero JA, Parikh ND, Murphy C, McCallister K, Singal AG. An assessment of benefits and harms of hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in patients with cirrhosis. Hepatology 2017; 65:1196-1205. [PMID: 27775821 PMCID: PMC5659110 DOI: 10.1002/hep.28895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 185] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2016] [Revised: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 10/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/07/2022]
Abstract
Although surveillance ultrasound and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) tests have minimal direct harm, downstream harms from follow-up tests must be weighed against surveillance benefits when determining the value of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening programs. Our study's aims were to characterize prevalence and correlates of surveillance benefits and harms in cirrhosis patients undergoing HCC surveillance. We conducted a retrospective cohort study among patients with cirrhosis followed at a safety-net health system between July 2010 and July 2013. We recorded surveillance-related benefits, defined as early tumor detection and curative treatment, and surveillance-related physical harms, defined as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans, biopsies, or other procedures performed for false-positive or indeterminate surveillance results. Sociodemographic and clinical correlates of surveillance harms were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression. We identified 680 patients with cirrhosis, of whom 78 (11.5%) developed HCC during the 3-year study period. Of the 48 (61.5%) HCCs identified by surveillance, 43.8% were detected by ultrasound, 31.2% by AFP, and 25.0% by both surveillance tests. Surveillance-detected patients had a higher proportion of early HCC (70.2% vs. 40.0%; P = 0.009), with no difference in tumor stage between ultrasound- and AFP-detected tumors (P = 0.53). Surveillance-related physical harms were observed in 187 (27.5%) patients, with a higher proportion of ultrasound-related harm than AFP-related harm (22.8% vs. 11.4%; P < 0.001). Surveillance-related harms were associated with elevated ALT (odds ratio [OR], 1.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26-2.76), thrombocytopenia (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.26-3.38), and hepatology subspecialty care (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.09-2.42). CONCLUSION Over one fourth of patients with cirrhosis experience physical harm for false-positive or indeterminate surveillance tests-more often related to ultrasound than AFP. Interventions are needed to reduce surveillance-related harm to increase the value of HCC screening programs in clinical practice. (Hepatology 2017;65:1196-1205).
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Affiliation(s)
- Omair Atiq
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health Hospital System, Dallas, TX
| | - Jasmin Tiro
- Harold C. Simmons Cancer CenterUT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Adam C. Yopp
- Department of Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; and Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Adam Muffler
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health Hospital System, Dallas, TX
| | - Jorge A. Marrero
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health Hospital System, Dallas, TX
| | - Neehar D. Parikh
- Department of Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; and Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Caitlin Murphy
- Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | | | - Amit G. Singal
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health Hospital System, Dallas, TX
- Harold C. Simmons Cancer CenterUT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
- Department of Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
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Singal AG, Tiro JA, Marrero JA, McCallister K, Mejias C, Adamson B, Bishop WP, Santini NO, Halm EA. Mailed Outreach Program Increases Ultrasound Screening of Patients With Cirrhosis for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Gastroenterology 2017; 152:608-615.e4. [PMID: 27825963 PMCID: PMC5285373 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2016.10.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2016] [Revised: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 10/28/2016] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Surveillance of patients with cirrhosis increases early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and prolongs survival. However, its effectiveness is limited by underuse, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities and individuals of low socioeconomic status. We compared the effectiveness of mailed outreach strategies, with and without patient navigation, in increasing the numbers of patients with cirrhosis undergoing surveillance for HCC in a racially diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged cohort. METHODS We performed a prospective study of patients with documented or suspected cirrhosis at a large safety-net health system from December 2014 through March 2016. Patients were assigned randomly (1:1:1) to groups that received mailed invitations for an ultrasound screening examination (n = 600), mailed invitations for an ultrasound screening examination and patient navigation (barrier assessment and motivational education for patients who declined screening; n = 600), or usual care (visit-based screening; n = 600). Patients who did not respond to outreach invitations within 2 weeks received up to 3 reminder telephone calls. The primary outcome was completion of abdominal imaging within 6 months of randomization. RESULTS Baseline characteristics were similar among groups. Cirrhosis was documented, based on International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, codes, for 79.6% of patients, and suspected, based on noninvasive markers of fibrosis, for 20.4%. In an intent-to-treat analysis, significantly greater proportions of patients who received the mailed invitation and navigation (47.2%) or the mailed invitation alone (44.5%) underwent HCC screening than patients who received usual care (24.3%) (P < .001 for both comparisons). However, screening rates did not differ significantly between outreach the outreach groups (P = .25). The effects of the outreach program were consistent in all subgroups, including Caucasian vs non-Caucasian race, documented vs suspected cirrhosis, Child-Pugh A vs B cirrhosis, and receipt of gastroenterology care. CONCLUSIONS In a prospective study, we found outreach strategies to double the percentage of patients with cirrhosis who underwent ultrasound screening for HCC. However, adding patient navigation to telephone reminders provided no significant additional benefit. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT02312817.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit G Singal
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas, Texas; Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
| | - Jasmin A Tiro
- Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - Jorge A Marrero
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - Katharine McCallister
- Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - Caroline Mejias
- Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - Brian Adamson
- Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - Wendy Pechero Bishop
- Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | | | - Ethan A Halm
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas, Texas; Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
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36
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Singal AG, Zhang P, Waljee AK, Ananthakrishnan L, Parikh ND, Sharma P, Barman P, Krishnamurthy V, Wang L, Wang SC, Su GL. Body Composition Features Predict Overall Survival in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Clin Transl Gastroenterol 2016; 7:e172. [PMID: 27228403 PMCID: PMC4893682 DOI: 10.1038/ctg.2016.31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2016] [Accepted: 04/07/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Existing prognostic models for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have limitations. Analytic morphomics, a novel process to measure body composition using computational image-processing algorithms, may offer further prognostic information. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a prognostic model for HCC patients using body composition features and objective clinical information. METHODS Using computed tomography scans from a cohort of HCC patients at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System between January 2006 and December 2013, we developed a prognostic model using analytic morphomics and routine clinical data based on multivariate Cox regression and regularization methods. We assessed model performance using C-statistics and validated predicted survival probabilities. We validated model performance in an external cohort of HCC patients from Parkland Hospital, a safety-net health system in Dallas County. RESULTS The derivation cohort consisted of 204 HCC patients (20.1% Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer classification (BCLC) 0/A), and the validation cohort had 225 patients (22.2% BCLC 0/A). The analytic morphomics model had good prognostic accuracy in the derivation cohort (C-statistic 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.71-0.89) and external validation cohort (C-statistic 0.75, 95% CI 0.68-0.82). The accuracy of the analytic morphomics model was significantly higher than that of TNM and BCLC staging systems in derivation (P<0.001 for both) and validation (P<0.001 for both) cohorts. For calibration, mean absolute errors in predicted 1-year survival probabilities were 5.3% (90% quantile of 7.5%) and 7.6% (90% quantile of 12.5%) in the derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. CONCLUSION Body composition features, combined with readily available clinical data, can provide valuable prognostic information for patients with newly diagnosed HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit G Singal
- Department of Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Peng Zhang
- Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Akbar K Waljee
- Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Center For Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Lakshmi Ananthakrishnan
- Department of Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Neehar D Parikh
- Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Pratima Sharma
- Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Pranab Barman
- Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Venkataramu Krishnamurthy
- VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Lu Wang
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Stewart C Wang
- Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Grace L Su
- Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Singal AG, El-Serag HB. Hepatocellular Carcinoma From Epidemiology to Prevention: Translating Knowledge into Practice. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2015; 13:2140-51. [PMID: 26284591 PMCID: PMC4618036 DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2015.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 383] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Revised: 08/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/11/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by dynamic temporal trends, several major established (i.e., HCV, HBV, alcohol) and emerging (i.e., diabetes, obesity, NAFLD) risk factors. Epidemiologic studies and clinical trials have identified additional demographic, clinical, pharmacological, genetic and life style factors that further affect or modify the likelihood of HCC and can be used in clinical practice to identify at-risk patients (i.e., risk stratification or prognostic algorithms) that can be targeted for prevention and early detection programs. These studies have also paved the way toward several well established preventive measures including HBV vaccination, HBV treatment, HCV treatment and HCC surveillance, and potential chemoprevention using statins, metformin or coffee. However, the effectiveness of HCC prevention in clinical practice and at the population level has lagged behind due to patient, provider, system, and societal factors. The Quality in the Continuum of Cancer Care model provides a framework for evaluating the HCC prevention processes, including potential failures that create a gap between efficacy and effectiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit G Singal
- Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
| | - Hashem B El-Serag
- Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Center (Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety), Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
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