Integration of Prealbumin into Child-Pugh Classification Improves Prognosis Predicting Accuracy in HCC Patients Considering Curative Surgery

Abstract

Background and Aims: The poor outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients may be due to not only malignant tumors but also limited liver function. Therefore, as stated in major guidelines, only patients with relatively normal liver function (Child-Pugh A) would be referred for curative hepatectomy. Even so, the postsurgery survival rate of patients is still extremely poor. To direct curative resection to the patients it will benefit the most, this study aimed to improve the prognosis predicting accuracy of the Child-Pugh scoring system.