Identification of candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma to receive TACE combined with MWA by assessing tumor burden and radiologic features

Background: There is still no noninvasive, automated, and accurate model for guiding physicians in the decision-making of transarterial chemoembolization combined with microwave ablation (TACE-MWA) in intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Objectives: To develop a prognostic score based...

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Main Authors: Chao An, Lujun Shen, Qifeng Chen, Yiquan Jiang, Chen Li, He Ren, Peihong Wu, Xi Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-03-01
Series:Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/17588359251324052
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author Chao An
Lujun Shen
Qifeng Chen
Yiquan Jiang
Chen Li
He Ren
Peihong Wu
Xi Liu
author_facet Chao An
Lujun Shen
Qifeng Chen
Yiquan Jiang
Chen Li
He Ren
Peihong Wu
Xi Liu
author_sort Chao An
collection DOAJ
description Background: There is still no noninvasive, automated, and accurate model for guiding physicians in the decision-making of transarterial chemoembolization combined with microwave ablation (TACE-MWA) in intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Objectives: To develop a prognostic score based on the tumor burden and radiomic features for the prediction of the long-term survival of patients with intermediate-stage HCC after TACE-MWA. Methods: From June 2008 to October 2022, a total of 2189 consecutive patients from seven tertiary-care hospitals with intermediate-stage HCC who received initial TACE combined with MWA were enrolled. Among them, 2189 were divided into training cohort ( N  = 1753), and internal test cohort ( N  = 436) in a single center, and 316 patients were assigned to external test cohort in another 6 centers. A prognostic scoring system was constructed using tumor burden and radiologic features (TBR) and compared with conventional predicting systems. Results: In training cohort, multivariate Cox regression analysis suggested that tumor burden (hazard ratio (HR), 0.693; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.505, 0.814; 1 point per 1.0 increase, p  = 0.024), radiologic features (HR, 0.349; 95% CI: 0.236, 0.517; p  < 0.001), and alpha-fetoprotein (HR, 1.629; 95% CI: 1.280, 2.073; p  < 0.001) were independent prognostic factors for OS. A prognostic model that comprises TBR was built, which showed significantly higher AUC values than other clinical stagings in all three cohorts. Moreover, the TBR score provided greater net benefit across the range of reasonable threshold probabilities than other models. Based on cutoff values of 32 and 74 centiles of the TBR score, the cohort was divided into low-, middle-, and high-risk strata, which provide consistent performance in survival discrimination across different patient subgroups. Conclusion: The TBR score serves as an efficient instrument for risk stratification, guiding the course of adjuvant targeted and immunotherapies for HCC patients undergoing TACE-MWA combined treatment. Design: A retrospective, multi-institutional study.
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spelling doaj-art-3f3453317c8c43c281526d6d576ddbdf2025-08-20T02:53:26ZengSAGE PublishingTherapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology1758-83592025-03-011710.1177/17588359251324052Identification of candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma to receive TACE combined with MWA by assessing tumor burden and radiologic featuresChao AnLujun ShenQifeng ChenYiquan JiangChen LiHe RenPeihong WuXi LiuBackground: There is still no noninvasive, automated, and accurate model for guiding physicians in the decision-making of transarterial chemoembolization combined with microwave ablation (TACE-MWA) in intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Objectives: To develop a prognostic score based on the tumor burden and radiomic features for the prediction of the long-term survival of patients with intermediate-stage HCC after TACE-MWA. Methods: From June 2008 to October 2022, a total of 2189 consecutive patients from seven tertiary-care hospitals with intermediate-stage HCC who received initial TACE combined with MWA were enrolled. Among them, 2189 were divided into training cohort ( N  = 1753), and internal test cohort ( N  = 436) in a single center, and 316 patients were assigned to external test cohort in another 6 centers. A prognostic scoring system was constructed using tumor burden and radiologic features (TBR) and compared with conventional predicting systems. Results: In training cohort, multivariate Cox regression analysis suggested that tumor burden (hazard ratio (HR), 0.693; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.505, 0.814; 1 point per 1.0 increase, p  = 0.024), radiologic features (HR, 0.349; 95% CI: 0.236, 0.517; p  < 0.001), and alpha-fetoprotein (HR, 1.629; 95% CI: 1.280, 2.073; p  < 0.001) were independent prognostic factors for OS. A prognostic model that comprises TBR was built, which showed significantly higher AUC values than other clinical stagings in all three cohorts. Moreover, the TBR score provided greater net benefit across the range of reasonable threshold probabilities than other models. Based on cutoff values of 32 and 74 centiles of the TBR score, the cohort was divided into low-, middle-, and high-risk strata, which provide consistent performance in survival discrimination across different patient subgroups. Conclusion: The TBR score serves as an efficient instrument for risk stratification, guiding the course of adjuvant targeted and immunotherapies for HCC patients undergoing TACE-MWA combined treatment. Design: A retrospective, multi-institutional study.https://doi.org/10.1177/17588359251324052
spellingShingle Chao An
Lujun Shen
Qifeng Chen
Yiquan Jiang
Chen Li
He Ren
Peihong Wu
Xi Liu
Identification of candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma to receive TACE combined with MWA by assessing tumor burden and radiologic features
Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology
title Identification of candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma to receive TACE combined with MWA by assessing tumor burden and radiologic features
title_full Identification of candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma to receive TACE combined with MWA by assessing tumor burden and radiologic features
title_fullStr Identification of candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma to receive TACE combined with MWA by assessing tumor burden and radiologic features
title_full_unstemmed Identification of candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma to receive TACE combined with MWA by assessing tumor burden and radiologic features
title_short Identification of candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma to receive TACE combined with MWA by assessing tumor burden and radiologic features
title_sort identification of candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma to receive tace combined with mwa by assessing tumor burden and radiologic features
url https://doi.org/10.1177/17588359251324052
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