Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40312376›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Vision transformer-based model can optimize curative-intent treatment for patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma.

Ke Zhang, Jinyu Ru, Wenbo Wang, Qiuping Ma, Fengwei Gao, Jiapeng Wu, Zhifei Dai, Qingyun Xie, Lei Mu, Haoyan Zhang and 11 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. [Ultrasound technology's new application in the diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer].Zhonghua gan zang bing za zhi = Zhonghua ganzangbing zazhi = Chinese journal of hepatology · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Emerging applications of traditional and generative artificial intelligence in liver transplantation.Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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

21 authors.

Ke Zhang *Department of Ultrasound Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5606-428X
Jinyu Ru *CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Wenbo Wang *Department of Ultrasound, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-3240-3690
Qiuping Ma *Department of Ultrasound, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Fengwei Gao *Liver Transplantation Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Jiapeng Wu *School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
Zhifei DaiDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, College of Future Technology, National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Qingyun XieLiver Transplantation Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Lei MuDepartment of Ultrasound Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Haoyan ZhangCAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jinhua PanDepartment of Ultrasound Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Liting XieDepartment of Ultrasound Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Qiyu ZhaoDepartment of Ultrasound Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Jie TianCAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0498-0432
Jie YuDepartment of Ultrasound, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China. jiemi301@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1168-8766
Ping LiangDepartment of Ultrasound, Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China. liangping301@126.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8933-6392
Hong WuLiver Transplantation Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. wuhong@scu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0885-4911
Kai LiDepartment of Ultrasound, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Liver Disease Research, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. likai@mail.sysu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3982-494X
Wei YangDepartment of Ultrasound, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China. 13681408183@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1190-8068
Kun WangCAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. kun.wang@ia.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2513-768X
Tianan JiangDepartment of Ultrasound Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. tiananjiang@zju.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7672-8394

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The treatment selection for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (rHCC) within Milan criteria after hepatectomy remains challenging. Here, we present HEROVision, a Vision Transformer-based model designed for personalized prognosis prediction and treatment optimization between thermal ablation (TA) and surgical resection (SR). HEROVision is trained on initial HCC cohorts (8492 images; 772 patients) and independently tested on rHCC cohorts (9163 images; 833 patients) from five centers. Propensity score matching (PSM) forms two groups of rHCC patients underwent TA and SR to fairly evaluate whether optimized treatment selection by HEROVision have clinical benefits. HEROVision significantly outperforms all six guideline staging systems in the external testing cohort, both in time-dependent concordance index and area under the curve (all P < 0.002). After PSM, 35.9% (23/64) and 6.6% (6/91) high-risk rHCC patients are identified, who could achieve improved prognosis by changing their treatments. HEROVision shows promise in optimizing individualized treatment between TA and SR for early-stage rHCC, complementing current clinical guidelines.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularLiver NeoplasmsNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalAgedFemaleHepatectomyHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingPrognosisPropensity ScoreTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID40312376
PMCPMC12045989

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.