A new prognostic scoring system involving des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin as a useful marker for predicting prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

A staging system for hepatocellular carcinoma was reported from Italy (CLIP). In this study, we evaluate the CLIP scoring system and establish a new scoring system for predicting the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients (n=141) who were diagnosed and who underwent initial treatment at our single institution were recruited retrospectively into this study. We evaluated markers for prognosis, using a stratified Cox proportional hazard regression model and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. CLIP score differentiated patients with different survival experiences by Kaplan-Meier estimated survival analysis. However, with respect the CLIP score, more than two thirds of patients were included in the early stage (CLIP 0-1), and the group with better prognosis than the survival rate of all patients was the only one with CLIP 0. Multivariate analysis revealed that des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) >/=100 mAU/ml (relative risk, 2.06; P=0.0218) was statistically significant as a predictor of poor survival. A new prognostic scoring system included DCP classified patients to 6 well-balanced groups (score 0-5). The new prognostic scoring system 0 group (14.9% of the cohort) and the CLIP score 0 group (34.0% of the cohort) had a median survival of 66.9 and 61.6 months. The new prognostic scoring system performs better for prediction of survival than either the CLIP score or the Child-Pugh stage. In conclusion, the described scoring system provides more accurate prognostic information than the CLIP scoring system. It may help physicians decide more appropriate clinical and therapeutic management.

Diagnosis of inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver.

Inflammatory pseudotumor (IPT) is a rare benign tumor of unknown origin, it has the appearance of a malignant tumor but has a benign histology and clinical course. Therefore, we studied five patients with IPT of the liver to determine what examination can aid in its diagnosis. Five cases of inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver were analyzed. All patients were examined by echography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) and angiography to diagnose the liver tumor. In all patients echography and CT scan showed a similar appearance while MRI showed a variable pattern. In two patients ERC showed a stenotic image of intra-hepatic bile ducts. In the angiographic study, the arterial phase in three patients showed a hypervascular tumor and in one patient, a hypovascular tumor. Vascular abnormality was presented in one patient. Similarly, portography in four patients showed some abnormality. We performed ultrasonography-guided percutaneous needle biopsy in two patients in order to diagnose IPT. Histological examinations of two patients were consistent with IPT. The other three patients underwent surgical treatment for a cholangiocellular carcinoma or abscess. It is difficult to diagnose IPT of the liver exclusively with an image examination. Ultrasonography-guided percutaneous liver biopsy should be performed in order to diagnose IPT by histology.