A simple prognostic scoring system for patients receiving transarterial embolisation for hepatocellular cancer.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis for patients with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) undergoing transarterial therapy (TACE/TAE) is variable. METHODS: We carried out Cox regression analysis of prognostic factors using a training dataset of 114 patients treated with TACE/TAE. A simple prognostic score (PS) was developed, validated using an independent dataset of 167 patients and compared with Child-Pugh, CLIP, Okuda, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) and MELD. RESULTS: Low albumin, high bilirubin or α-fetoprotein (AFP) and large tumour size were associated with a two- to threefold increase in the risk of death. Patients were assigned one point if albumin <36 g/dl, bilirubin >17 µmol/l, AFP >400 ng/ml or size of dominant tumour >7 cm. The Hepatoma arterial-embolisation prognostic (HAP) score was calculated by summing these points. Patients were divided into four risk groups based on their HAP scores; HAP A, B, C and D (scores 0, 1, 2 and >2, respectively). The median survival for the groups A, B, C and D was 27.6, 18.5, 9.0 and 3.6 months, respectively. The HAP score validated well with the independent dataset and performed better than other scoring systems in differentiating high- and low-risk groups. CONCLUSIONS: The HAP score predicts outcomes in patients with HCC undergoing TACE/TAE and may help guide treatment selection, allow stratification in clinical trials and facilitate meaningful comparisons across reported series.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor and DJ-1 in gastric cancer: differences between high-incidence and low-incidence areas.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for sensitive and specific blood-borne markers for the detection of gastric cancer. Raised serum macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF) levels have been proposed as a marker for gastric cancer diagnosis but, to date, studies have only encompassed patients from high-incidence areas. METHODS: We have compared the serum concentration of MIF in a large cohort of UK and Japanese gastric cancer patients, together with appropriate control subjects (age and gender matched). Carcinoembryonic antigen and H. pylori IgG were also measured, as was DJ-1, a novel candidate protein biomarker identified by analysis of gastric cancer cell line secretomes. RESULTS: Marked elevations of the serum concentration of MIF and DJ-1 were seen in Japanese patients with gastric cancer compared with Japanese controls, a trend not seen in the UK cohort. These results could not be accounted for by differences in age, disease stage or H. pylori status. CONCLUSION: In regions of high, but not low incidence of gastric cancer, both MIF and DJ-1 have elevated serum concentrations in gastric cancer patients, compared with controls. This suggests that differing mechanisms of disease pathogenesis may be at play in high- and low-incidence regions.

Sutureless scleral tunnel cataract surgery using topical and low dose perilimbal anesthesia.

Because of risks and complications inherent to retrobulbar anesthesia, alternative techniques such as peribulbar and topical approaches have been devised. These also have associated problems. We have developed a technique that combines a single, minimal volume, perilimbal injection with topical anesthesia. It provides sutureless scleral tunnel cataract surgery without the risks of retrobulbar or peribulbar anesthesia, maximizing patient comfort and allowing immediate return of vision postoperatively.