Hepatocellular Carcinoma Management in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Patients: Applicability of the BCLC Staging System

• Published in: American journal of clinical oncology Vol. 39; no. 5; p. 428
• Main Authors: Kikuchi, Luciana, Oliveira, Claudia P, Alvares-da-Silva, Mario R, Tani, Claudia M, Diniz, Marcio A, Stefano, Jose T, Chagas, Aline L, Alencar, Regiane S S M, Vezozzo, Denise C P, Santos, Gilmar R, Campos, Priscila B, Alves, Venancio Af, Ratziu, Vlad, Carrilho, Flair J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.10.2016
• Subjects: Ablation Techniques; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Algorithms; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - etiology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - therapy; Female; Hepatectomy; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis - complications; Liver Cirrhosis - pathology; Liver Neoplasms - etiology; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Liver Neoplasms - therapy; Liver Transplantation; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neoplasm Staging; Niacinamide - analogs & derivatives; Niacinamide - therapeutic use; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - complications; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - pathology; Phenylurea Compounds - therapeutic use; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies; Survival Rate; Tumor Burden
• ISSN: 1537-453X
• DOI: 10.1097/COC.0000000000000134

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has emerged as an important cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) system is the preferred staging system to evaluate patients with HCC and links prognosis assessment with treatment recommendation. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate whether the BCLC staging system and its treatment algorithm are suitable for patients with HCC arising from NAFLD. Forty-two patients with HCC related to either to NAFLD or cryptogenic cirrhosis were retrieved retrospectively from 2 centers in Brazil. Patients were classified according to BCLC staging system. If the proposed HCC therapy could not be applied, the case was considered to represent deviations from the recommended BCLC guideline. Causes of treatment deviations were investigated. There were 4 patients without evidence of cirrhosis according to liver biopsy and/or clinical evaluation. One (2%), 21 (50%), 10 (24%), 5 (12%), and 5 patients (12%) were classified initially to the very early (0), early (A), intermediate (B), advanced (C), and terminal (D) BCLC stages, respectively. Thirty-five patients (83%) were treated according to BCLC recommendations. There were 3 cases (of 5) of protocol deviation in BCLC C patients. The 1- and 2-year overall survival rates were 81% and 66%, respectively. The BCLC system is applied in most cases of NAFLD-related HCC cases. Deviation of BCLC is found more frequently in BCLC C stage patients.