Objective answers for a complex disease
What is Hepatocellular carcinoma?
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common liver cancer, accounting for ~90% of all cases and for 75% of the deaths1. Hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis is normally performed through blood and imaging tests and, in some cases, a sample of liver tissue (biopsy). It can be difficult to diagnose in a timely manner as most people don’t have symptoms early in the development of the disease. When hepatocellular carcinoma is diagnosed at an early stage, liver transplantation offers the best curative-intent treatment2.
How are patients with HCC selected for liver transplantation?
Different criteria are used worldwide to select those hepatocellular carcinoma patients that will benefit the most from liver transplantation. However, there is no consensus on which criterion is the best. On one hand there are still a significant number of patients that will relapse after liver transplantation, while on the other hand the same criteria exclude patients that could benefit from a liver transplant3. This delays the earlier redirection of patients to more appropriate treatments and limits the opportunity for a curative-intent treatment. HepatoPredict was developed to solve this problem.
What is HepatoPredict and how it can help you
HepatoPredict is a laboratory test that analyses a tissue sample obtained from the tumor (liver biopsy). It combines the information obtained from the tissue (biomarkers) with information obtained during imaging tests (such as number of nodules, nodule diameter, and/or volume). A computational algorithm integrates these data and predicts wether the patient will remain disease-free after transplantation (good prognosis), or instead, that a disease relapse is likely (bad prognosis). This information supports better clinical decisions.
Talk to your clinician
Since HepatoPredict is a new test not all clinicians are familiar with it. If you are a patient with HCC and would like to take the test, talk to your doctor to find out whether it is suitable for you.
Download this brochure to present HepatoPredict to your doctor
References
1 Lovet et al (2021) Hepatocellular carcinoma. Nature Reviews. doi: 10.1038/s41572-020-00240-3
2 Reig et al (2022) BCLC strategy for prognosis predication and treatment recommendation: The 2022 update. Journal of Hepatology. doi: https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jhep.2021.11.018
3 Santopaolo et al (2019) Liver transplantation for hepatocelular carcinoma: Where do we stand? World Journal of Gastroenterology. Doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i21.2591