Prognostic significance of albumin-bilirubin grade in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after R0 resection

Objective To investigate the significance of albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score in predicting prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods The clinical data of 644 HCC patients were retrospectively analyzed from May 2010 to May 2013 in the First People′s Hospital of Changde City and the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University. Peripheral blood test results were used to calculate ALBI score, and ALBI score was categorized into the following 3 groups: grade 1, grade 2, grade 3. Overall survival(OS) and disease free survival(DFS) were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. And independent prognostic predictors were determined by the Cox proportional hazard model. Results Multivariate analysis showed that ALBI grade 2 was an independent risk factor for OS(P<0.05). The ALBI grade stratified patients into at least two distinct overall survival cohorts (P<0.05), whereas the CP grade did not. The ALBI grade also classified patients with CP grade A patients into two distinct overall survival cohorts (P<0.05). In the subgroup analysis, the ALBI grade seemed to be an independent factor in terms of Barcelona Clinical Liver Cancer staging system(BCLC) 0-C. Conclusion For patients with HCC who underwent R0 resection, the ALBI grade is a good predictor of OS in HCC patients, and the above conclusions is true in patients with BCLC stage 0-C. Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Hepatectomy; Albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade; Prognosis