ArticleJournal of hepatocellular carcinoma2026
Application of the AAPS (AFP-ALBI-PIVKA-II-Serum Albumin) Scoring System in Efficacy Monitoring of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with PD-1 Inhibitor Combined with Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization (TACE).
Article in Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lacks reliable serological biomarkers for monitoring programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor plus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). We aimed to validate the prognostic value of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) reductions and establish a practical combined model (AAPS: AFP-ALBI-PIVKA-II-serum albumin). Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 139 HCC patients treated with PD-1 inhibitor plus TACE. Patients were stratified by ≥50% vs <50% reductions in AFP and PIVKA-II. Survival was assessed by Kaplan-Meier with Log rank tests; prognostic factors by multivariate Cox regression. The AAPS score incorporated AFP reduction, PIVKA-II reduction, albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, and serum albumin. X-tile identified optimal cutoffs: AFP 34%, PIVKA-II 73%, and AAPS 5 points, defining low-risk (5-8) and high-risk (0-4) groups. Model performance was evaluated by C-index, bootstrap-corrected area under the curve (AUC), calibration, and decision curve analysis (DCA). All tests were two-tailed, P < 0.05 considered significant. Results: Patients with ≥50% biomarker reduction achieved higher objective response rate (ORR) and longer progression-free survival (PFS: AFP, 13.17 vs 10.72 months, P=0.009; PIVKA-II, 13.11 vs 10.87 months, P=0.012) and overall survival (OS: AFP, 14.50 vs 13.40 months; PIVKA-II, 14.60 vs 13.32 months). Multivariate analysis confirmed AFP and PIVKA-II reduction, and albumin as independent prognostic factors. ALBI grade, as an aestablished prognostic indicators in HCC, was included in the AAPS model based on its clinical relevance.The AAPS model demonstrated improved predictive accuracy for ORR, PFS, and OS versus single biomarkers. Conclusion: AFP/PIVKA-II reductions correlated with treatment response in HCC patients receiving PD-1 inhibitor plus TACE. The AAPS scoring model, integrating dynamic biomarkers with liver function, refines prognostic stratification and may guide personalized therapy. This serum-based assessment is unaffected by post-TACE inflammation or edema, complementing imaging evaluation.
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.