ArticleTranslational gastroenterology and hepatology2019
Prognostic value of preoperative alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level in patients receiving curative hepatectomy- an analysis of 1,182 patients in Hong Kong.
Article in Translational gastroenterology and hepatology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Predictive Role of [18F]FDG PET/CT in Early HCC Recurrence After Liver Transplantation.Cancers · 2026Article
- Sustained AFP-L3 or DCP expression is associated with progression risk and inferior outcomes in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.Clinical and experimental medicine · 2025Article
- Prognostic Value of a Novel Model for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Undergoing Transarterial Chemoembolization.Journal of clinical laboratory analysis · 2025Article
- Review
- Does very high alpha-fetoprotein affect very early hepatocellular carcinoma receiving hepatectomy?Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2025Article
- Multiparametric MRI-Based Machine Learning Radiomics Prognostic Models for Multifocal Hepatocellular Carcinoma Beyond Milan Criteria: A Retrospective Study.Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma · 2025Article
- The survival prediction analysis and preliminary study of the biological function of YEATS2 in hepatocellular carcinoma.Cellular oncology (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2024Article
- Alpha-fetoprotein: Past, present, and future.Hepatology communications · 2024Review
- Stage-by-stage analysis of the effect of blood transfusion on survival after curative hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma-a retrospective study.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2024Article
- Hepatocellular Carcinoma: The Role of Surgery in Liver Cirrhosis.Visceral medicine · 2024Review
- Serum CHI3L1 Levels Predict Overall Survival of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients after Hepatectomy.Journal of Cancer · 2024Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization Combined with Lenvatinib Plus Anti-PD-1 Inhibitors for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with Extrahepatic Metastases: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma · 2024Article
- EpCAM-positive circulating tumor cells and serum AFP levels predict outcome after curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Sequencing Systemic Therapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Current treatment options in oncology · 2023Review
- Survival in People Living with HIV with or without Recurrence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Invasive Therapy.Cancers · 2023Article
- Carcinoembryonic Antigen, Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9, Cancer Antigen 125, Prostate-Specific Antigen and Other Cancer Markers: A Primer on Commonly Used Cancer Markers.World journal of oncology · 2023Review
- Pre- to postoperative alpha-fetoprotein ratio-based nomogram to predict tumor recurrence in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Article
- Inflammation-Related Marker NrLR Predicts Prognosis in AFP-Negative HCC Patients After Curative Resection.Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma · 2023Article
- Prognostic factors for disease-free survival in postoperative patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and construction of a nomogram model.World journal of clinical cases · 2022Article
- Outcome after Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Noncirrhotic Liver-A Single Centre Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe value of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) as a prognostic indicator in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been proposed in recent studies, but the evidence so far is still contradictory. This analysis aims to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative AFP level in patients undergoing curative resection.
methodsThis retrospective study reviewed the prospectively collected data of all patients who underwent initial liver resection for HCC at Queen Mary Hospital during the period from March 1999 to March 2013. Patients with palliative resection, positive margin after pathological examination or distant metastasis were excluded from the study. Survival of patients with AFP level of <20, 20-400 and >400 ng/mL were compared with Kaplan-Meier analysis. Subgroup analysis was performed according to tumour stage (7
resultsA total of 1,182 patients were included. Best overall (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) was observed in patients with AFP level <20 ng/mL. Progressively worse outcomes were seen for patients with increasing level of AFP. The median OS were 132.9, 77.2 and 38.4 months for patients with AFP <20, 20-400 and >400 ng/mL respectively (P<0.001). The median DFS for these three groups were 55.6, 25 and 8.4 months respectively (P<0.001). There was significant difference in both OS and DFS among all 3 groups. With subgroup analysis according to tumour stage (stage I and II versus stage III and IV) and tumour size (5 cm or less versus larger than 5 cm), such difference was still observed and remained statistically significant. Optimal cutoff value by discriminant analysis was 12,918.3 ng/mL for OS and 9,733.3 ng/mL for DFS.
conclusionsThis study demonstrates that AFP is a significant prognostic indicator in HCC. Despite tumour stage and size, high level of AFP is associated with poorer OS and DFS. Whether the level of AFP should be included in current staging systems, or treatment protocols, is yet to be determined.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.