Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39939542›Full record

ArticleAbdominal radiology (New York)2025

Liver tumor imaging staging: a multi-institutional study of a preoperative staging tool for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Qiupng Liu, Xiang Li, KaiLan Yang, ShuWen Sun, Xun Xu, Kai Qu, Jiaqi Xiao, Chenyue Liu, HangQi Yu, YinYing Lu and 3 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Abdominal radiology (New York), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Qiupng LiuDepartment of Radiology, Jiangsu Province Hospital and Nanjing Medical University First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing, China.
Xiang LiDepartment of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
KaiLan YangDepartment of Radiology, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
ShuWen SunDepartment of Radiology, Jiangsu Province Hospital and Nanjing Medical University First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing, China.
Xun XuDepartment of Radiology, Jiangsu Province Hospital and Nanjing Medical University First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing, China.
Kai QuDepartment of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
Jiaqi XiaoDepartment of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
Chenyue LiuDepartment of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
HangQi YuDepartment of Radiology, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
YinYing LuPLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
JinRong Qu *Department of Radiology, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, China. qjryq@126.com.
YuDong Zhang *Department of Radiology, Jiangsu Province Hospital and Nanjing Medical University First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing, China. njmu_zyd@163.com.
Yuelang Zhang *Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China. zhyl_003@163.com.

Funding

Special program of sustainable development of the Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality KCXFZ202002011006448the Key Research and Development Program of Shanxi Province 2022SF-319The National Natural Science Foundation of China 82272082
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND &

aimsThe current staging system has limitations in preoperatively assessing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and in precise detailed treatment allocation. This study aims to propose a new Liver Tumor Imaging Staging (LTIS) method for HCC.

methods1295 patients who underwent CT or MRI and curative liver resection during January 2012 and October 2020 were retrospectively recruited from three independent institutions. All images were interpreted by two abdominal and a board-certified radiologist. LTIS was designed to discriminate low-grade (absence of microvascular invasion [MVI] and Edmondson-Steiner grade III/IV), intermediate (MVI + or Edmondson-Steiner grade III/IV but not both) and high-grade HCC (MVI + and Edmondson-Steiner grade III/IV) upon CT and MRI. Model was constructed in 578 derivation cohort (center 1) and validated in internal center 1 test cohort (n = 291), and external center 2 (n = 226) and center 3 (n = 200), respectively. Cronbach's alpha statistics were determined to assess interobserver agreement. Net clinical benefit of LTIS on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) was analyzed with a Cox proportional hazards model.

resultsLTIS shows good inter-reader agreements in both CT and MRI datasets, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.86 and 0.85, respectively. In independent test, LTIS achieved agreement of 73.2% (281/384), 18.9% (100/528), and 69.2% (265/383) for determining low, intermediate, and high-grade HCCs with "ground truth" results. In the Cox analysis, LTIS was comparable to "ground truth" grade for predicting RFS (hazards ratio (HR), 1.30 vs. ground truth grade, 1.36 and 1.56) and OS (HR, 1.76 vs. ground truth grade, 2.00 and 3.03) of patients after surgery. In patients conventionally classified as having low-grade tumors (serum α-fetoprotein < 400 ng/mL, stage T1), 47.4% and 35.6% were reclassified as high-grade tumors upon LTIS restaging. The resulting LTIS subgroups showed a significant difference in RFS and OS at Kaplan-Meier analysis (Log-rank test, p < 0.001).

conclusionLTIS provides a potential noninvasive way to precisely stage HCC using CT and MRI.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularLiver NeoplasmsMagnetic Resonance ImagingTomography, X-Ray ComputedAdultAgedFemaleHepatectomyHumansLiverMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingPreoperative CareRetrospective StudiesClinical decision supportDisease predictionHepatocellular carcinomaLiver tumor imaging staging

Identifiers

PMID39939542
PMCPMC12331851

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.