A new prognostic score can predict survival after hepatocellular carcinoma treatment in a cohort of 1302 Egyptian hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Introduction Survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) differs between regions and countries according to the different underlying factors and the degree of standard of care that enables early diagnosis and management. Our aim was to identify the most potent predictive factors of survival in Egyptian HCC patients receiving curative or palliative treatments. Patients and methods This retrospective study included 1302 HCC patients attending the HCC multidisciplinary clinic, Cairo University, between February 2009 and December 2016. Clinical, laboratory, tumor characteristics, and treatment data were collected. Prognostic scores for each of the treatment categories, curative or palliative, were developed using routine laboratory tests. Results Patients were predominantly men, mean age 57.79±7.56 years. All cases developed HCC in addition to cirrhosis, mainly hepatitis C virus-related (88.2%). Most of the patients were Child-Pugh A (56.8%) or B (34.4%) and had single lesions. Transarterial chemoembolization was the most common line of treatment (42.08%). The overall median survival was 18.3 months from the date of diagnosis. Cigarette smoking, Child-Pugh score, performance status, number and size of the focal lesion, α-fetoprotein, and application of a specific treatment, particularly curative treatment, were the significant independent prognostic factors for survival. We found no impact of diabetes mellitus or hypertension on survival. Multidisciplinary HCC clinic predictive scores of survival after palliative and curative treatments were developed including independent prognostic factors, age, and portal vein status. Conclusion A new Egyptian prognostic score of tumor and patients factors can predict the survival of patients with HCC after palliative and curative treatments.