Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40656560›Full record

ArticleTransplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation2025

Long-Term Prognostic Value of AFP and PIVKA-II in HCC After Living Donor Liver Transplantation: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Saran Ochir Gongor, YoungRok Choi, Gayoung Kim, Min Kyoung Kim, Sang Hyuk Park, Jiyoung Kim, Jae-Yoon Kim, Su Young Hong, Jeong-Moo Lee, Suk Kyun Hong and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Transplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. ABO-incompatibility and hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after living donor liver transplantation: stratified by tumor burden.Transplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation · 2026
    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

11 authors.

Saran Ochir GongorDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
YoungRok ChoiDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Gayoung KimDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Min Kyoung KimDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Sang Hyuk ParkDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jiyoung KimDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jae-Yoon KimDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Su Young HongDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jeong-Moo LeeDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Suk Kyun HongDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kwang-Woong LeeDepartment of Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite the development of numerous prognostic models for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence and mortality after liver transplantation, tumor biomarkers such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and protein induced by vitamin K absence-II (PIVKA-II) remain widely used in clinical practice. This study evaluated the performance of AFP and PIVKA-II compared with six prognostic models (RETREAT, SNAPP, MoRAL, R3-AFP, METROTICKET 2.0, and SALT) in a retrospective cohort of 707 adults who underwent living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for HCC between 2003 and 2018. Patients were stratified into Milan and Beyond Milan groups. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted using integrated area under the curve (iAUC) and concordance index (C-index) to assess recurrence and mortality. AFP and PIVKA-II (continuous) achieved iAUCs of 0.68-0.75 for recurrence and C-indices of 0.66-0.77 for mortality. Their combination reached iAUCs up to 0.78 and C-indices up to 0.80. Threshold models (AFP ≥200, PIVKA-II ≥400) showed modest predictive performance. Among multivariable models, R3-AFP demonstrated the most consistent performance (iAUC 0.76-0.81; C-index 0.78-0.82). SNAPP, MoRAL, and SALT also performed well. AFP and PIVKA-II may offer practical utility in resource-limited settings. However, multivariable models remain the preferred approach where comprehensive diagnostics are available.

Indexed as

alpha-FetoproteinsBiomarkersCarcinoma, HepatocellularLiver NeoplasmsLiver TransplantationProtein PrecursorsAdultAgedBiomarkers, TumorFemaleHumansLiving DonorsMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalPrognosisacarboxyprothrombinAFP protein, humanalpha-FetoproteinsBiomarkersBiomarkers, TumorProtein PrecursorsProthrombinalpha-fetoproteindes-gamma carboxyprothrombinhepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)living donor liver transplantation (LDLT)PIVKA-IItumor biomarker

Identifiers

PMID40656560
PMCPMC12245734

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.