Article
Oncology
Ashwin Rao, Nicole E. Rich, Jorge A. Marrero, Adam C. Yopp, Amit G. Singal
Summary: Delays in diagnosis and treatment are common in patients with HCC, but treatment delays do not seem to significantly impact overall survival.
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER NETWORK
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Jingwen Yang, Weiwei Dong, He Zhang, Huixia Zhao, Zhiyan Zeng, Fengyun Zhang, Qiuwen Li, Xiaohong Duan, Yanyan Hu, Wenhua Xiao
Summary: This study revealed that the exosomal microRNA panel has high accuracy in diagnosing HCC and has important clinical significance.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Ruben Hernaez, Jennifer R. Kramer, Aisha Khan, Jessica Phillips, Katharine McCallister, Kassie Chaf, Adriana Portela Hernandez, Hannah Fullington, Cynthia Ortiz, James-Michael Blackwell, Adam Loewen, Yan Liu, Jasmin A. Tiro, Simon C. Lee, Amit G. Singal
Summary: This study examined the prevalence and risk factors for depression and anxiety among patients with cirrhosis in the United States. It found that nearly 1 in 6 patients with cirrhosis have moderately severe to severe depression and nearly half have moderate-severe anxiety. Self-reported poor health was identified as a significant risk factor for both depression and anxiety.
CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Arvinder Soin, Mickael Lesurtel, Prashant Bhangui, Lorenzo Cocchi, Mohamed Bouattour, Pierre-Alain Clavien
Summary: In this debate, the authors discuss the suitability of liver transplantation for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and portal vein tumor thrombosis. The argument for liver transplantation is based on the belief that it provides greater clinical benefits in terms of survival outcomes compared to palliative systemic therapy after successful downstaging treatment. The counterargument is that the evidence for liver transplantation in this setting is limited, and expected survival in these patients may still be lower than the accepted thresholds for liver transplantation.
JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Bang-Bin Chen, Po-Chin Liang, Tiffany Ting-Fang Shih, Tsung-Hao Liu, Ying-Chun Shen, Li-Chun Lu, Zhong-Zhe Lin, Chiun Hsu, Chih-Hung Hsu, Ann-Lii Cheng, Yu-Yun Shao
Summary: Sarcopenia and myosteatosis are independent prognostic factors in patients who received immunotherapy for advanced HCC.
EUROPEAN RADIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Anais Delagnes, Marine Roux, Valerie Vilgrain, Boris Guiu, Valerie Laurent, Olivier Sutter, Ivan Bricault, Herve Trillaud, Christophe Aube, Anita Paisant
Summary: This study developed and validated a new fat-LI-RADS algorithm for the non-invasive diagnosis of fat-containing HCC, which significantly improves diagnostic sensitivity without compromising specificity. It has the potential to reduce unnecessary biopsies for fat-containing HCCs.
EUROPEAN RADIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Zhi-Qiang Hu, Hao-Yang Xin, Chu-Bin Luo, Jia Li, Zheng-Jun Zhou, Ji-Xue Zou, Shao-Lai Zhou
Summary: Recent studies have found various associations between the mutational landscape and the immune microenvironment in HCC patients. High mutational burden and aristolochic acid-dominated mutational signature are correlated with tumoral PD-L1 expression, T-cell infiltration, and the presence of TAMs and TANs. Mutations in certain genes are associated with lower levels of T-cell infiltration in tumors.
CANCER IMMUNOLOGY IMMUNOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aaron P. Thrift, Fasiha Kanwal, Yanhong Liu, Saira Khaderi, Amit G. Singal, Jorge A. Marrero, Nicole Loo, Sumeet K. Asrani, Michelle Luster, Abeer Al-Sarraj, Jing Ning, Spiridon Tsavachidis, Xiangjun Gu, Christopher I. Amos, Hashem B. El-Serag
Summary: This study found that polygenic risk scores can be used to predict the risk of hepatocellular cancer in contemporary U.S. cirrhosis patients and can improve the predictive ability of traditional risk factor models.
Article
Oncology
Tomi Jun, Umut Ozbek, Sirish Dharmapuri, Camille Hardy-Abeloos, Huili Zhu, Jung-Yi Lin, Nicola Personeni, Tiziana Pressiani, Naoshi Nishida, Pei-Chang Lee, Chieh-Ju Lee, Hannah Hildebrand, Neil Nimkar, Sonal Paul, Petros Fessas, Muntaha Naeem, Dominik Bettinger, Uqba Khan, Anwaar Saeed, Yi-Hsiang Huang, Masatoshi Kudo, Lorenza Rimassa, Thomas U. Marron, David J. Pinato, Celina Ang
Summary: This study found that exposure to PPI/H2RA prior to ICIs does not adversely affect outcomes in HCC patients, including overall survival, overall response rate, and treatment-related adverse events.
THERAPEUTIC ADVANCES IN MEDICAL ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Sang Bong Ahn, Jun Choi, Dae Won Jun, Hyunwoo Oh, Eileen L. Yoon, Hyoung Su Kim, Soung Won Jeong, Sung Eun Kim, Jae-Jun Shim, Yong Kyun Cho, Hyo Young Lee, Sung Won Han, Mindie H. Nguyen
Summary: This study developed a HCC prediction model that combined pre- and post-treatment parameters, improving prediction performance and achieving excellent accuracy in an external validation cohort. The model is based on the presence of cirrhosis at baseline and AFP and platelet values measured 12 months after antiviral initiation.
LIVER INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Oncology
David Sooik Kim, Beom Kyung Kim, Jae Seung Lee, Hye Won Lee, Jun Yong Park, Do Young Kim, Sang Hoon Ahn, Seung Up Kim
Summary: This study attempted to validate the prognostic performance of the proposed Pre- and Post-TACE (transarterial chemoembolization)-Predict models, in comparison with other models for prognostication. The Pre-TACE-Predict model had better predictive performance than the Post-TACE-Predict model for overall survival, but there was no significant difference between the two models at any time point. The modified hepatoma arterial embolization prognostic (mHAP)-II model showed significantly better predictive performance compared to Pre-TACE-Predict when using pre-treatment factors, and the SNACOR model was significantly more predictive than the Post-TACE-Predict model when using first TACE response.
Article
Cell Biology
Yangcheng Ma, Cuipeng Qiu, Bofei Wang, Xiaojun Zhang, Xiao Wang, Renato J. Aguilera, Jian-Ying Zhang
Summary: This study identified anti-DNMT3A, p16, HSPA5, and HSP60 autoantibodies as potential diagnostic biomarkers for Hispanic HCC patients. Combining all four autoantibodies increased sensitivity for Hispanic HCC diagnosis.
Article
Oncology
Shaohua Xu, Ruihuan Gao, Yidan Zhou, Ying Yang, Yi Zhang, Qianyuan Li, Chunhua Luo, Song-Mei Liu
Summary: The mRNA expression and DNA methylation of NDRG superfamily members have the potential for LIHC diagnosis and prognosis.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jared Kehe, Anthony Ortiz, Anthony Kulesa, Jeff Gore, Paul C. Blainey, Jonathan Friedman
Summary: The study used an ultrahigh-throughput coculture platform to measure interactions among 20 soil bacteria in 40 carbon environments, finding that positive interactions were prevalent and primarily occurred as parasitisms between strains with differing carbon consumption profiles. In 85% of cases, non-growing strains were promoted by strongly growing strains, suggesting a simple positive interaction-mediated approach for cultivation, microbiome engineering, and microbial consortium design.
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Ke Shi, Jie Hou, Qun Zhang, Yufei Bi, Xuanwei Zeng, Xianbo Wang
Summary: In this study, the prognostic value of lipid-related inflammatory parameters in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients was investigated. The neutrophil-to-HDL-C ratio (NHR) was found to be independently associated with 3-year mortality in HCC patients. The NHR showed similar predictability and reliability as the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD), and patients with NHR ≥ 3.5 and MELD ≥ 9 had a high mortality rate.
FRONTIERS IN NUTRITION
(2023)
Letter
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Ashwini Arvind, Sagar Joshi, Timothy Zaki, Daniel Burkholder, Neehar D. Parikh, Amit G. Singal, North Amer Liver Canc NALC Consortium
CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Amit G. Singal, Neehar D. Parikh, Yujin Hoshida
DIGESTIVE DISEASES AND SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Neehar D. Parikh, Nabihah Tayob, Amit G. Singal
Summary: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major contributor to cancer-related deaths globally due to inadequate early detection strategies. Current screening recommendations have several deficiencies, including suboptimal sensitivity and poor adherence. Blood-based biomarkers show promise but require validation and logistical solutions before clinical implementation. Maturing validation cohorts, such as the Hepatocellular Carcinoma Early Detection Study and the Texas Hepatocellular Carcinoma Consortium, are expected to provide robust validation for candidate biomarkers.
JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Karim Seif El Dahan, Darine Daher, Amit G. Singal
Summary: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and HCC surveillance is recommended for patients with cirrhosis from any cause and may be beneficial for high-risk subgroups with non-cirrhotic NAFLD. NAFLD-related HCC patients are more likely to have advanced stage cancer and poor outcomes due to suboptimal effectiveness of surveillance programs. This review summarizes current HCC surveillance guidelines, discusses challenges specific to NAFLD, and examines the effectiveness of current surveillance tools while suggesting future approaches to improve adherence.
CLINICAL AND MOLECULAR HEPATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Manasa Narasimman, Sandi L. Pruitt, Caitlin C. Murphy, Amit G. Singal, Anna Tavakkoli
Summary: The incidence of early-onset gastric cancer (EOGC) is increasing in adults ages less than 50 years old, particularly among Hispanic persons. This disparity exists in both rural and urban areas. Further research is needed to understand the reasons behind this elevated risk and develop interventions.
CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY BIOMARKERS & PREVENTION
(2023)
Letter
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Amit G. Singal, Jorge Marrero, Neehar D. Parikh
Summary: The heterogeneity in the impact of tumor growth rate on mortality highlights the need for methods to adjust for it. The estimation of the proportions of slow growing tumors may not accurately represent the underlying data due to the inclusion of diverse cohorts in the study. The values of relative mortality for fast and slow growing tumors lack empirical basis and were chosen based on a previous analysis.
JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Sarah R. Lieber, Luke Baldelli, Hannah P. Kim, Rebekah P. Nash, Alvaro Noriega Ramirez, Gabrielle Magee, Alfred S. Barritt, Donna M. Evon, Amit G. Singal
Summary: Understanding the experiences of liver transplant survivors at different stages is crucial for improving care. Patient-reported concepts such as coping, resilience, post-traumatic growth, and anxiety/depression have been identified as important factors affecting quality of life and health behaviors after transplantation. This study aimed to characterize these concepts at different survivorship stages, and found that post-traumatic growth was more prevalent in early survivorship whereas resilience was lower in late survivorship.
LIVER TRANSPLANTATION
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Amit G. Singal, T. Tara Ghaziani, Neil Mehta, Kali Zhou, Lauren T. Grinspan, Jihane N. Benhammou, Andrew M. Moon, Ju Dong Yang, Reena Salgia, Anjana Pillai, Elizabeth Zheng, Nicole E. Rich, Purva Gopal, Prasun Jalal, Elizabeth Verna, Sruthi Yekkaluri, Samuel Phen, Jonathan Melendez-Torres, Omar Alshuwaykh, Hailey Choi, Kevin Junus, John Grady, Michael Song, Emily A. Leven, Jung Yum, Vrushab Gowda, Manaf Alsudaney, Perla Hernandez, Nirmal Desai, Neehar D. Parikh
Summary: There is a wide variation in recall patterns for patients with subcentimeter liver lesions on ultrasound. The low risk of primary liver cancer (PLC) in these patients supports short-interval ultrasound follow-up in 3-6 months, but high-risk subgroups may require diagnostic CT/MRI.
HEPATOLOGY COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Caitlin C. Murphy, Piera M. Cirillo, Nickilou Y. Krigbaum, Amit G. Singal, Barbara A. Cohn
Summary: This study found that offspring exposed to Bendectin in utero had a higher risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) compared to unexposed offspring. The increased risk may be due to the presence of dicyclomine in Bendectin. Further experimental studies are needed to confirm these findings and identify the mechanisms of risk.
JNCI CANCER SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Amit G. Singal, Masatoshi Kudo, Jordi Bruix
Summary: Breakthroughs in HCC therapy, including surgical and local ablative therapies, have expanded the number of eligible patients for curative-intent procedures. Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) remains the treatment of choice for liver-localized disease, but there is increasing recognition of patients who may benefit from systemic therapy. Systemic therapy, especially immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations, has shown promising results with objective responses in approximately 30% of patients and improved survival. Multidisciplinary care is critical for complex decision-making and improved clinical outcomes in HCC treatment. Further research is needed to explore combination therapies and identify remaining areas of need.
CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Amit G. Singal, Marco Sanduzzi-Zamparelli, Pierre Nahon, Maxime Ronot, Yujin Hoshida, Nicole Rich, Maria Reig, Valerie Vilgrain, Jorge Marrero, Josep M. Llovet, Neehar D. Parikh, Augusto Villanueva
Summary: Research efforts in liver cancer aim to improve surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by addressing limitations in risk stratification, underuse of surveillance, and accuracy of screening tests. Proposed strategies include using risk stratification algorithms and biomarkers for identifying at-risk individuals, interventions to increase surveillance, and emerging imaging and blood tests with improved sensitivity and specificity for early HCC detection. Practical and logistical considerations must be taken into account when designing and implementing these validation efforts.
JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Andrew M. Moon, Sarah Cook, Rachel M. Swier, Hanna K. Sanoff, Michael D. Kappelman, Lynne I. Wagner, A. Sidney Barritt, Amit G. Singal, Neil D. Shah, David M. Mauro, Ted K. Yanagihara, David A. Gerber, Michael W. Fried, Cristal Brown, Myra Waheed, Randall Teal, Donna M. Evon
Summary: This study found that posttreatment symptoms after locoregional therapies in HCC patients are common and often severe. These findings can help prioritize patient-reported outcomes (PRO) domains and suggest that patients are interested in electronic PRO symptom monitoring. Further investigation of electronic PRO monitoring in HCC patients is warranted.
HEPATOLOGY COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Mohammad A. Karim, Amit G. Singal, Hye Chung Kum, Yi-Te Lee, Sulki Park, Nicole E. Rich, Mazen Noureddin, Ju Dong Yang
Summary: Prediagnostic CT or MRI is associated with improved survival in patients with HCC, with CT/MRI showing a greater benefit compared to ultrasound in early detection.
CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Stephanie L. Alden, Mir Lim, Chester Kao, Daniel Shu, Amit G. Singal, Anne Noonan, Paige Griffith, Marina Baretti, Won Jin Ho, Ihab Kamel, Mark Yarchoan, David Hsiehchen
Summary: Ipilimumab plus nivolumab has shown efficacy in patients with advanced HCC who have received prior anti-PD-(L)1 therapy, suggesting its potential as a salvage treatment option.
CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Amit G. Singal, Saurabh P. Nagar, Abby Hitchens, Keith L. Davis, Shrividya Iyer
Summary: This retrospective study suggests the clinical effectiveness of lenvatinib monotherapy in a real-world setting among previously treated patients with uHCC, including those previously treated with immunotherapy.