Venous reconstruction using a round ligament-covered prosthetic vascular graft in right­lobe living­donor liver transplantation: a technical report.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the short term-outcomes of venous reconstruction using a round ligament-covered prosthetic vascular graft and assess its effectiveness in the prevention of prosthetic vascular graft migration in right­lobe living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty patients underwent reconstruction of the middle hepatic vein (MHV) tributaries during right lobe LDLT between January, 2021 and October, 2022. These patients were divided into the autologous vascular graft group (A group, n = 24) and the round ligament-covered prosthetic vascular graft group (RP group, n = 6). The computed tomography (CT) density ratio of the drainage area in the posterior segment of patent grafts was significantly higher in the RP group than in the A group (0.91 vs. 1.06, p = 0.0025). However, the patency rates of reconstructed MHV tributaries in the A and RP groups were 61% and 67%, respectively, with no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.72). Prosthetic vascular graft migration did not occur in the RP group. CONCLUSION: Venous reconstruction using round ligament-covered prosthetic vascular grafts is a feasible and simple method to prevent prosthetic vascular graft migration in right-lobe LDLT.

What Are Risk Factors for Graft Loss in Patients Who Underwent Simultaneous Splenectomy During Living-donor Liver Transplantation?

BACKGROUND: The consensus that portal venous pressure modulation, including splenectomy (Spx), prevents portal hypertension-related complications after living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has been established. However, little evidence about the risk factors for graft loss after simultaneous Spx during LDLT is available. This study aimed to identify the independent predictors of graft loss after simultaneous Spx during LDLT. METHODS: Data of 655 recipients who underwent LDLT between 1997 and 2021 were collected and separated into the simultaneous Spx group (n = 461) and no-Spx group (n = 194). RESULTS: The simultaneous Spx group had significantly lower serum total bilirubin levels, drained ascites volumes, and prothrombin time-international normalized ratios on postoperative day 14 than the no-Spx group (P < 0.001 for each). Incidences of small-for-size graft syndrome (P < 0.001), acute cellular rejection (P = 0.002), and sepsis (P = 0.007) were significantly lower in the Spx group. Graft survival of the Spx group was significantly better than that of the no-Spx group (P < 0.001; hazard ratio [HR], 1.788; 95% confidence interval, 1.214-2.431). A multivariate analysis revealed that 3 variables, platelet count ≤4.0 × 104/mm3 (P = 0.029; HR, 2.873), donor age ≥60 y old (P = 0.013; HR, 6.693), and portal venous pressure at closure ≥20 mm Hg (P = 0.010; HR, 3.891), were independent predictors of graft loss within 6 mo after simultaneous Spx during LDLT. CONCLUSIONS: Spx is a safe inflow modulation procedure with a positive impact on both postoperative complications and prognosis for most patients. However, patients with the 3 aforementioned independent factors could experience graft loss after LDLT.

Feasibility of venous cuff using an open round ligament or inferior mesenteric vein around the hepatic vein for a left lobe graft in living-donor liver transplantation.

Living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is an established treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease or acute liver failure, and outflow reconstruction is considered one of the most vital techniques in LDLT. To date, many strategies have been reported to prevent outflow obstruction, which can be refractory to liver dysfunction and can cause life-threatening graft loss or mortality. In addition, in this era of laparoscopic hepatectomy in donor surgery, especially LDLT using a left liver graft, it has been predicted that cutting the hepatic vein with automatic linear staplers will lead to more outflow-related problems than with conventional open hepatectomy because of the short neck of the anastomosis orifice. We herein review 10 cases of venoplasty performed with a novel venous cuff system using a donor's round ligament around the hepatic vein in LDLT with a left lobe graft, which makes anastomosis of the hepatic vein sterically easy for postoperative venous patency.

Chronic expanding hematoma of the liver: a case report and review of the literature.

Chronic expanding hematoma (CEH) is defined as a hematoma that grows slowly over a month or longer. CEH with a primary hepatic origin is extremely rare. An 85-year-old man presented with general malaise and low-grade fever. His medical history included hypertension and postoperative appendicitis, and he was taking oral aspirin. Computed tomography showed a 7-cm mass in liver S7 with calcification at the margin. On contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, the inside of the mass showed heterogeneous hyperintensity on T1-weighted images, mainly low intensity on T2-weighted images, and mild hyperintensity in some areas. Under the preoperative diagnosis of suspected CEH, hemorrhagic cyst, or hepatocellular carcinoma, S7 partial liver resection and cholecystectomy were performed. Histopathological findings showed that the mass was continuous with the liver and protruded extrahepatically, and was covered with a hard fibrous capsule. The capsule contained hematomas ranging from obsolete to relatively fresh, with no neoplastic lesions. He was diagnosed with CEH in the liver. This subcapsular hepatic hematoma was pathologically shown to be a CEH. Complete surgical resection was effective in treating this CEH in the liver.

Treatment strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence in the transplant era: Focusing on the Japan criteria.

PURPOSE: To clarify the Japan criteria (JC), as proposed in 2019, in order to identify the most appropriate treatment methods for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence and assess the feasibility of pre-living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) downstaging within these criteria. METHODS: The subjects of this study were 169 LDLT patients with HCC recurrence. We performed univariate and multivariate analyses of the factors contributing to HCC recurrence after LDLT and clarified the post-transplant outcomes of pre-LDLT downstaging. RESULTS: Univariate and multivariate analysis identified beyond the JC (p = 0.0018) and a neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio > 2.01 (p = 0.029) as independent risk factors. Patients who met the JC had significantly higher recurrence-free and overall survival rates after LDLT (p < 0.0001) than those who did not (p = 0.0002). The post-transplant outcomes of patients within the JC after downstaging were significantly better than those of patients beyond the JC (p = 0.034) and equivalent to those within the JC without downstaging. CONCLUSION: Even for HCC recurrence, the JC could play an important role in deciding on the best treatment strategy, and downstaging within the JC had good post-transplant outcomes.

Pretreatment eosinophil count predicts response to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab therapy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: Pretreatment peripheral blood markers have value in predicting the treatment outcome of various cancers. In particular, the eosinophil count has recently gained attention. However, no study has reported the influence of the pretreatment eosinophil count on the outcomes of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (ATZ/BEV), which is the recommended first-line systemic therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (u-HCC). METHODS: We enrolled 114 patients with u-HCC treated with ATZ/BEV (n = 48) or lenvatinib (n = 66). The patients receiving ATZ/BEV or lenvatinib were divided into two groups by calculating the cutoff value of the pretreatment eosinophil count. The groups were compared regarding the clinicopathological characteristics, outcomes, and incidence of adverse events (AEs). RESULTS: Twenty-three of 48 patients (47.9%) who received ATZ/BEV therapy were categorized as the ATZ/BEV-eosinophil-high group, which had better responses than the ATZ/BEV-eosinophil-low group (P = 0.0090). Kaplan-Meier curves revealed a trend toward significantly better progression-free survival (PFS) in the ATZ/BEV-eosinophil-high group than the ATZ/BEV-eosinophil-low group (the median PFS: 4.7 months in the ATZ/BEV-eosinophil-low group vs 12.6 months in the ATZ/BEV-eosinophil-high group; P = 0.0064). Multivariate analysis showed that a low eosinophil count was an independent risk factor for worse PFS after ATZ/BEV therapy (P = 0.0424, hazard ratio: 2.24, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-4.89). AEs (≥ grade 3) were significantly more likely to occur in the ATZ/BEV-eosinophil-high group (P = 0.0285). The outcomes did not significantly differ between the LEN-eosinophil-high group and the LEN-eosinophil-low group. CONCLUSION: A high pretreatment eosinophil count predicted a better response to ATZ/BEV therapy for u-HCC and was associated with the incidence of AEs (≥ grade 3).

Effect of Early Enteral Nutrition on Graft Loss After Living Donor Liver Transplantation: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to elucidate the effect of early enteral nutrition on graft loss within 12 h after living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) using propensity score-matching analysis and subsequently examine the risk factors for graft loss after LDLT. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 467 LDLT patients who were assigned to the early and non-early groups based on the optimal cutoff value of 12 h for the starting time of early enteral nutrition after LDLT to predict graft loss. RESULTS: The 1-year graft survival rate of the early group before propensity score-matching was 92.1%, whereas the 1-year graft survival rate of the non-early group was 86.2%. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups (P = .067). The incidences of early allograft dysfunction (EAD), small-for-size graft (SFSG) syndrome, acute cellular rejection (ACR), and sepsis were not statistically different between the 2 groups (P = .12, .91, .46, and .056, respectively). After propensity score-matching, the 1-year graft survival rate of the early group was 94.4%, whereas the 1-year graft survival rate of the non-early group was 85.4% (P = .034). The incidences of EAD, SFSG syndrome, and ACR were not statistically different between the 2 groups (P = .43, .81, and .24, respectively). However, the incidence of sepsis was statistically different between the 2 groups (non-early: 10.7% vs early: 3.6%, P = .038). CONCLUSION: Early enteral nutrition within 12 h after LDLT may contribute to better graft survival in LDLT patients by preventing sepsis.

Liver metastasis composed of pure squamous cell carcinoma component from pancreatic pure ductal adenocarcinoma: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Liver metastasis of pure squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has not been previously reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 66-year-old man underwent a computed tomography scan 3 years after surgery for pancreatic head cancer, and the scan revealed a mass lesion in the right lobe of the liver. A liver tumor biopsy was performed, and SCC was diagnosed. Whole sections of the pancreatic head cancer were re-evaluated, but no areas of SCC-like differentiation were identified. Although the pathology differed between the pancreas and liver, metastasis of adenosquamous carcinoma was considered. Three courses of gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel were administered to treat the liver metastasis of pancreatic cancer, but no response was attained. Therefore, primary SCC of the liver was considered and hepatic resection was performed. The tumor had invaded the diaphragm, and S5/6 partial hepatic resection with right diaphragm resection was performed. Pathological examination showed pure SCC of the liver, which differed from the pancreatic cancer. KRAS mutations were evaluated in the pancreatic and liver tumor specimens, and Q61R mutation was identified in both specimens. This pure SCC of the liver was diagnosed as metastasis from pancreatic cancer not by histology but by genetic analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first reported case of pure SCC liver metastasis from pancreatic cancer without a squamous cell component in the primary tumor. Evaluation of KRAS mutations in both specimens was useful for diagnosis.

Curative surgery for multiple hepatocellular carcinomas after lenvatinib plus transarterial chemoembolization: a case report.

Surgical therapy following lenvatinib (LEN) plus transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a useful therapeutic option for intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A 66-year-old man with a history of hepatitis C was detected four masses in the caudate lobe and segment 6/7 of the liver, with a maximum lesion diameter of 14 cm by computed tomography. The patient was diagnosed with intermediate-stage HCC and received LEN plus TACE. After resuming LEN for 8 weeks, computed tomography showed weakened stained areas of the tumors, and no new lesions. Thus, the patient was evaluated as having a partial response in the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. The patient underwent hepatic caudate lobectomy, partial hepatectomy of S6/7, and S6 microwave coagulation therapy for radical resection. The patient is currently alive and recurrence-free at 12 months postoperatively. In patients with multiple HCC lesions, hepatic resection combined with local therapy might be an effective treatment option.

Impact of portal-phase signal intensity of dynamic gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognostic impact of dynamic gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 206 patients with HCC who underwent preoperative Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI and hepatectomy and quantitatively evaluated the signal intensity ratio of the tumor to the surrounding liver tissue in the portal phase (SIRPP). We verified the survival rates and assessed the prognostic factors associated with overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) using SIRPP. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis revealed that the independent predictive factors for poorly-differentiated HCC were α-fetoprotein > 20 ng/mL (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.1909, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3464-7.5622, p = .0084) and SIRPP ≤ 0.85 (HR: 3.7155, 95% CI: 1.521-9.076, p = .004). The 5-year OS and RFS rates in the high and low SIRPP groups were 83.2 and 52.1%, respectively (p < .0001) and 49.7 and 18.5%, respectively (p = .0003). Multivariate analysis revealed that SIRPP ≤ 0.68 was an independent prognostic factor related to OS (HR: 4.4537, 95% CI: 1.6581-11.9626, p = .003). CONCLUSION: The SIRPP of preoperative Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI might predict the histological differentiation and prognosis of HCC.

A new scoring system with simple preoperative parameters as predictors of early recurrence of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) often recurs early after radical resection, and such early recurrence (ER) is associated with a poor prognosis. Predicting ER is useful for determining the optimal treatment. METHODS: One hundred fifty-three patients who underwent pancreatectomy for PDAC were divided into an ER group (n = 54) and non-ER group (n = 99). Clinicopathological factors were compared between the groups, and the predictors of ER and prognosis after PDAC resection were examined. RESULTS: The ER group had a higher platelet count, higher platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), higher preoperative CA19-9 concentration, higher SPan-1 concentration, larger tumor diameter, and more lymph node metastasis. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis identified cut-off values for PLR, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), SPan-1, and tumor diameter. In the multivariate analysis, a high PLR, high CA19-9, and tumor diameter of >3.1 cm were independent predictors of ER after resection (all p < 0.05). When the parameter exceeded the cut-off level, 1 point was given, and the total score of the three factors was defined as the ER prediction score. Next, our new ER prediction model using PLR, CA19-9 and tumor diameter (Logit(p) = 1.6 + 1.2 × high PLR + 0.7 × high CA19-9 + 0.5 × tumor diameter > 3.1cm) distinguished ER with an area under the curve of 0.763, a sensitivity of 85.2%, and a specificity of 55.6%. CONCLUSIONS: ER after resection of PDAC can be predicted by calculation of a score using the preoperative serum CA19-9 concentration, PLR, and tumor diameter.

A third dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine sufficiently improves the neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants in liver transplant recipients.

Introduction: We examined the neutralizing antibody production efficiency of the second and third severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine doses (2nd- and 3rd-dose) and neutralizing activity on mutant strains, including, the Ancestral, Beta and Omicron strains using green fluorescent protein-carrying recombinant SARS-CoV-2, in living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) recipients. Methods: The patients who were administered vaccines other than Pfizer- BioNTechBNT162b2 and who had coronavirus disease 2019 in this study period were excluded. We enrolled 154 LDLT recipients and 50 healthy controls. Result: The median time were 21 days (between 1st and 2nd vaccination) and 244 days (between 2nd and 3rd vaccination). The median neutralizing antibody titer after 2nd-dose was lower in LDLT recipients than in controls (0.46 vs 1.00, P<0.0001). All controls had SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies, whereas 39 LDLT recipients (25.3%) had no neutralizing antibodies after 2nd-dose; age at vaccination, presence of ascites, multiple immunosuppressive treatments, and mycophenolate mofetil treatment were significant risk factors for nonresponder. The neutralizing activities of recipient sera were approximately 3-fold and 5-fold lower than those of control sera against the Ancestral and Beta strains, respectively. The median antibody titer after 3rd-dose was not significantly different between recipients and controls (1.02 vs 1.22, p=0.0758); only 5% recipients was non-responder. The neutralizing activity after third dose to Omicron strains were enhanced and had no significant difference between two groups. Conclusion: Only the 2nd-dose was not sufficiently effective in recipients; however, 3rd-dose had sufficient neutralizing activity against the mutant strain and was as effective as that in healthy controls.

Preoperative HALP score is a prognostic factor for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients undergoing curative hepatic resection: association with sarcopenia and immune microenvironment.

BACKGROUND: The hemoglobin-albumin-lymphocyte-platelet (HALP) score is a combination index that assesses nutritional status and systemic inflammatory response and is reported to predict prognosis in several cancer types. However, researches about the usefulness of the HALP score in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) are limited. METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective study of 95 patients who underwent surgical resection for ICC between 1998 and 2018. We divided patients into two groups by calculating the cutoff value of the HALP score and examined clinicopathological characteristics, prognosis, and sarcopenia. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), CD8 + TILs, and FOXP3 + TILs were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining of resected tumors. RESULTS: Of 95 patients, 22 were HALP-low. The HALP-low group had significantly lower hemoglobin (p = 0.0007), lower albumin (p = 0.0013), higher platelet counts (p < 0.0001), fewer lymphocytes (p < 0.0001), higher CA19-9 levels (p = 0.0431), and more lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0013). Multivariate analysis revealed that the independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival were maximum tumor size (≥ 5.0 cm) (p = 0.0033), microvascular invasion (p = 0.0108), and HALP score (≤ 25.2) (p = 0.0349), and that factors for overall survival were lymph node metastasis (p = 0.0020) and HALP score (≤ 25.2) (p = 0.0014). The HALP-low group contained significantly more patients with sarcopenia (p = 0.0015). Immunohistochemistry showed that counts of CD8 + TILs were significantly lower in the HALP-low group (p = 0.0075). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that low HALP score is an independent prognostic factor for ICC patients undergoing curative hepatic resection and is associated with sarcopenia and the immune microenvironment.

Surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma after Fontan operation: three case reports and review of the literature.

We herein describe three patients with Fontan-associated liver disease who developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The first patient was a 28-year-old woman who had undergone the Fontan operation (FO) at the age of 4 years. She was diagnosed with HCC (cT4aN0M0, Stage IVA, UICC 8th edition), for which she underwent extended posterior right sectionectomy and partial hepatectomy of S2. She developed recurrence of peritoneal dissemination after 12 months, and she was alive 18 months after surgery. The second patient was a 43-year-old man who had undergone the FO at the age of 3 years. He was diagnosed with HCC (cT2N0M0, Stage II), for which he underwent laparoscopic-assisted partial hepatectomy of S3. He remained free from recurrent HCC for 17 months. The third patient was a 21-year-old woman who had undergone the FO at the age of 3 years. She was diagnosed with HCC (cT3N0M0, Stage III), for which she underwent laparoscopic-assisted partial hepatectomy of S2 and S4. She remained free from recurrent HCC for 30 months. We reviewed 18 surgical cases of HCC arising from Fontan-associated liver disease, including our 3 cases, and found that a high preoperative alpha-fetoprotein concentration might be a predictor of HCC recurrence.

Clinical association between intraoperative indocyanine green fluorescence imaging pattern, preoperative Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging findings, and histological differentiation in hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: We aimed to evaluate the association between the intraoperative indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging (FI) pattern, preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings using gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA), preoperative diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of MRI, and histological differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data for 80 tumors of 64 patients. Intraoperative ICG FI patterns were classified into cancerous or rim-positive type. We evaluated the signal intensity ratio of the tumor and the surrounding liver tissue in the portal phase (SIRPP) and intensity in the hepatobiliary phase (HBP) of Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the DWI of MRI, and clinicopathologic factors. RESULTS: In the rim-positive group, the rate of poorly differentiated HCC and hypointensity type in HBP were significantly higher, and SIRPP and ADC were significantly lower than the rim-negative group. In the cancerous group, the rate of well or moderately differentiated HCC and hyperintensity type in HBP, SIRPP, and ADC were significantly higher than the noncancerous group. Multivariate analysis identified low SIRPP, low ADC, and hypointensity type in HBP as the significant predictive factors for rim-positive HCC and high SIRPP, high ADC, and hyperintensity type in HBP as the significant predictive factors for cancerous HCC. The positive rate of programmed cell death 1-ligand 1 and vessels that encapsulate tumor clusters status of the rim-positive HCC and HCC with low SIRPP were significantly higher than the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The intraoperative ICG FI pattern of HCC closely correlated with histological differentiation, preoperative SIRPP and intensity type in the Gd-EOB-DTPA MRI, and preoperative ADC in the DWI of MRI.

A rare case of unresectable, microsatellite instability-high hepatocellular carcinoma and an examination of the tumor microenvironment.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and the mortality rate of patients with unresectable HCC is very high. Microsatellite instability (MSI) is an essential biomarker for response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in various tumors. However, the frequency of MSI in HCC is low (1.11%). There is only one case report of MSI-high HCC, and it is not well understood how high MSI affects the tumor microenvironment of HCC. Hence, we describe an interesting patient with unresectable MSI-high HCC, including the evaluation of immune status in the tumor microenvironment. A 68-year-old man presented to our department with HCC in liver segment 1. Contrast-enhanced CT revealed a liver tumor of 6.0 cm in maximum size. The patient underwent extended left and caudate lobectomy of the liver for HCC. Four months after surgical resection, contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) detected 13 recurrent nodules. The patient was diagnosed with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence, and we decided to administer systematic chemotherapy. Lenvatinib was administered over approximately 2 years as a first-line treatment, which resulted in intrahepatic tumor shrinkage. However, follow-up CECT showed new lesions, hepatogastric mesentery lymph node swelling, and peritoneal dissemination. After MSI-high status was identified, the patient began to receive pembrolizumab (200 mg, every 3 weeks). Eleven cycles of pembrolizumab therapy were administered over approximately 8 months, during which the diameter of the hepatogastric mesentery lymph node swelling and peritoneal dissemination showed shrinkage but later re-increased. As the third- and fourth-line therapy has been administered, the tumors and lymph nodes have shrunk. We report a rare case in which multikinase inhibitors were effectively used to treat MSI-high HCC.

Clinical Significance of Signal Regulatory Protein Alpha (SIRPα) Expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα), expressed in the macrophage membrane, inhibits phagocytosis of tumor cells via CD47/SIRPα interaction, which acts as an immune checkpoint factor in cancers. This study aimed to clarify the clinical significance of SIRPα expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: This study analyzed SIRPα expression using RNA sequencing data of 372 HCC tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and immunohistochemical staining of our 189 HCC patient cohort. The correlation between SIRPα expression and clinicopathologic factors, patient survival, and intratumor infiltration of immune cells was investigated. RESULTS: Overall survival (OS) was significantly poorer with high SIRPα expression than with low expression in both TCGA and our cohort. High SIRPα expression correlated with lower recurrence-free survival (RFS) in our cohort. High SIRPα expression was associated with higher rates of microvascular invasion and lower serum albumin levels and correlated with greater intratumor infiltration of CD68-positive macrophages and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Multivariate analysis showed that SIRPα expression and high infiltration of CD8-positive T cells and MDSCs were predictive factors for both RFS and OS. Patients with high SIRPα expression and infiltration of CD8-positive T cells and MDSCs had significantly lower RFS and OS rates. In spatial transcriptomics sequencing, SIRPα expression was significantly correlated with CD163 expression. CONCLUSIONS: High SIRPα expression in HCC indicates poor prognosis, possibly by inhibiting macrophage phagocytosis of tumor cells, promoting MDSC infiltration and inducing antitumor immunity. Treatment alternatives using SIRPα blockage should be considered in HCC as inhibiting macrophage antitumor immunity and MDSCs.

The hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet score is a prognostic factor for Child-Pugh A patients undergoing curative hepatic resection for single and small hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: The hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) score reflects the immune system and the nutritional status of patients, and prognosis in various cancers. However, the HALP score in hepatocellular carcinoma has not been reported. METHODS: Data were analyzed retrospectively from Child-Pugh A patients undergoing hepatic resection for single hepatocellular carcinoma ≤5 cm. For cross-validation, patients were divided into the training (332 patients) and validation cohort (210 patients). In the training cohort, we divided patients into two groups by appropriate cut-off value of the HALP score, and univariable and multivariable analyses were conducted for disease-free and overall survival (OS) between two groups. In the validation cohort, we examined OS by Kaplan-Meier analysis in the same cut-off value of the HALP score in the training cohort. RESULTS: The HALP-low group was significantly older (p = 0.0003), had fewer hepatitis B surface antigen-positive patients (p = 0.0369), higher prothrombin time (p = 0.0141), lower fibrosis-4 index (p = 0.0206), bigger maximum tumor size (p = 0.0196), and less histological liver fibrosis (p = 0.0077). Multivariate analysis showed that the independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival were fibrosis-4 index ≥2.67 (p = 0.0008), simple nodular type with extranodular growth or confluent multinodular type (p = 0.0221), and intrahepatic metastasis (p = 0.0233), and that for OS were fibrosis-4 index ≥2.67 (p = 0.0020), HALP ≤45.6 (p = 0.0228), and poor differentiation (p = 0.0305). In the validation cohort, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed the trend toward significantly impaired OS (p = 0.0220) in the HALP-low group. CONCLUSION: We showed that a low HALP score is the independent prognostic factor for Child-Pugh A patients undergoing curative hepatic resection for single and small hepatocellular carcinoma.