Efficacy and Safety of Transarterial Radioembolization in Elderly Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single-Center Experience.

BACKGROUND/AIMS:  Hepatocellular carcinoma is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients, and most patients are suitable for locoregional and/or systemic therapy at the time of diagnosis. In this study, we aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of transarterial radioembolization in elderly patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS:  Patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma between 2013 and 2022 were screened retrospectively. The patients were divided into 2 groups: the elderly (age >70 years) and the young (age <70 years). Transarterial radioembolization response was evaluated according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. RESULTS:  Ninety patients were included in the young group, and 56 patients were in the elderly group. It was observed that male dominance was less in the elderly group (P > .05). Hepatitis B was the most common cause in both groups. There were no significant differences between groups with regard to morphological features of tumors [tumor focality (single; 62.2% and 60.7%, respectively) and maximal tumor diameter (6.9 and 6.55 cm, respectively)], transarterial radioembolization responses (51.1% and 39.3%, respectively), survival (9 and 8.5 months), and both early and late side effects (P > .05). Age was not found to be an effective factor in transarterial radioembolization response (P > .05). CONCLUSION:  No differences in the safety and efficacy of transarterial radioembolization were observed between the groups. In addition, it was observed that age was not a predictive factor for adverse events. In elderly patients in the frail group, it should be considered that age alone should not be seen as a limitation in the transarterial radioembolization decision.

Is mean platelet volume a simple marker of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease?

BACKGROUND: Due to the increasing prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), there was a need to establish non-invasive tests for its detection. Mean platelet volume (MPV) is an inexpensive, practical and easily accessible marker of inflammation in many disorders. Our study was aimed at investigating the relationship between MPV and both NAFLD and liver histology. METHODS: Total 290 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD (n = 124) and 108 control patients were included in the study. To exclude the effect of other diseases on MPV, we included 156 patient controls in our study. Those whohave liver-related diseases and those who use drugs that may cause fatty liver were not included in the study. Liver biopsy was performed for those whose alanine aminotransferase level persisted for >6 months above the upper limits. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: We found that MPV was significantly higher in the NAFLD group compared with the control group, and MPV had an independent predictive value for the development of NAFLD. We determined that the number of platelets was significantly lower in the NAFLD group compared with that in the control group. We compared MPV values histologically with both stage and grade in all patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and found that MPV had a significant positive correlation with stage. We observed a positive correlation between MPV and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis grade, but this was not statistically significant. MPV can be useful because it is simple, easy to measure, cost-effective, and routinely tested in daily practice. MPV can be used as a simple marker of NAFLD and an indicator of fibrosis-stage in NAFLD.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Cirrhotic Versus Noncirrhotic Livers: Clinicomorphologic Findings and Prognostic Factors.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma mostly develops in a cirrhotic (80%) background. The clinical features of cirrhotic hepatocellular carcinoma and non-cirrhotic hepatocellular carcinoma also differ. We aimed to determine the clinicopathologic features, tumor characteristics, treatment options, and overall survival after diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma and prognostic factors effective on survival of hepatocellular carcinoma developing in cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic conditions. METHODS: In our study, 220 patients aged over 18 years who were histologically diagnosed as having hepatocellular carcinoma were included. The patients were divided into 2 groups as cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic. RESULTS: When the tumor morphologies were examined in our study, it was observed that they were mostly solitary in both groups. Cirrhotic hepatocellular carcinomas had significantly higher rates of invasion than the non-cirrhotic group (35.3% vs. 20.3%, respectively) (P <.05). The survival rate was found to be better in the non-cirrhotic group (17.5 months vs. 11.5 months) (P <.05). Age, maximal tumor diameter, and morphologically infiltrative tumor character were found to be independent risk factors affecting survival in patients with cirrhosis. Portal vein invasion, alfa-fetoprotein, and the absence of an underlying risk factor in the etiology were observed as independent risk factors affecting survival in patients with non-cirrhosis. CONCLUSION: Cirrhotic hepatocellular carcinoma and non-cirrhotic hepatocellular carcinoma had different clinicopathologic features and risk factors. We analyzed that treatment choice trends were different between the 2 groups. We also observed that the factors that affected survival were different between the 2 groups.

Prognostic value and morphological findings of overexpression of glypican-3 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the seventh most common cancer all worldwide and is second in cancer-related deaths. In HCC, whose prognosis is still not good despite current treatments, there is a need for prognostic markers as well as early diagnosis. Glypican (GPC)-3 has been proposed as a potential serologic and histochemical marker specific to HCC. This study aimed to determine the relationship between GPC3 overexpression and HCC prognosis and clinicomorphologic features. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total 152 patients who were diagnosed as a result of hepatectomy, lobectomy or liver transplantation were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups, GPC3-positive (overexpression) (>10%) and GPC3-negative (<10%). The demographic data of the patients, tumor characteristics and survival times were recorded. RESULTS: Survival was significantly lower in the GPC3+ group. In the multivariate analysis, hepatitis C, AFP, tumor number, tumor focality, portal vein tumor thrombosis and GLP3 positivity were found to be independent risk factors for survival. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that GPC3 overexpression is a poor prognostic factor in HCC. GPC3 positivity were found to be an independent risk factor for survival.

Prognostic factors of elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: should we be more courageous in treatment?

OBJECTIVES: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a cancer with a poor prognosis, its incidence increases with age. The risk of developing HCC is highest in the seventh decade. In this study, we aimed to determine the clinicopathological differences, treatment choices, survival times, and effective prognostic factors of HCC in the elderly and young populations. METHODS: All patients aged ≥18 years who were diagnosed histologically between 2016 and 2020 were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups: <70 years and ≥70 years. The clinicopathological differences, treatment choices, survival times, and effective prognostic factors of HCC were compared in the elderly and young populations. RESULTS: A total of 407 patients were evaluated. There were 164 patients (40.3%) in the geriatric age group. There was no significant difference in the female/male ratio, the laboratory values, survival time between the two groups. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of tumor focality and portal vein invasion ( P > 0.05). The presence of NAFLD, maximal tumor diameter (MTD), and portal invasion were found to be significant for survival according to the univariate analysis in elderly group ( P < 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, presence of NAFLD etiologically, and MTD independent risk factors were observed in elderly group ( P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: If the clinicomorphological features of the tumor and prognostic risk factors can be determined by examining the patients in detail, all treatments can be easily applied in the geriatric group.