Evaluation of new prognostic staging systems (SLiDe score) for hepatocellular carcinoma patients who underwent hepatectomy.

Background/aims: A new prognostic staging system, the SLiDe (S, stage; Li, liver damage; De, des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin) score was recently proposed. We examined 207 HCC patients following hepatic resection to determine the usefulness of this staging system for HCC patients after surgery.
Methodology: Disease-free and overall survival rates were calculated according to the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences between groups were tested for significance using the log-rank test.
Results: Regarding disease-free survival, there were no significant differences in survival between SLiDe score 0 vs 1, between score 2 vs 3, and between score 4 vs 5. There were significant differences between 0-1 vs 2-3 (p < 0.01) and between 2-3 vs 4-5 (p < 0.01). Regarding overall survival, there were no significant differences in survival between score 0 vs 1, between score 2 vs 3, and between score 4 vs 5. There were significant differences between 0-1 vs 2-3 (p < 0.05) and between 2-3 vs 4-5 (p < 0.01).
Conclusions: The SLiDe score, a staging system that combines tumor factors, a tumor marker and hepatic function, might be a better predictor of prognosis in HCC patients who have undergone hepatic resection.