The best predictive model for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) seriously threatens human health. About 820,000 deaths annually are due to related complications such as hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recently, the use of oral antiviral agents has significantly improved the prognosis of patients with CHB infection and reduced the risk of HCC. However, hepatitis B virus still remains a major factor in the development of HCC, raising many concerns. Therefore, numerous studies have been conducted to assess the risk of HCC in patients with CHB infection and many models have been proposed to predict the risk of developing HCC. However, as each study has different models for predicting HCC development that can be applied depending on the use of antiviral agents or the type of antiviral agents, it is necessary to properly understand characteristics of each model when using it for the evaluation of HCC in patients with CHB infection. In addition, because different variables such as host factor, viral activity, and cirrhosis are used to evaluate the risk of HCC development, it is necessary to assess the risk by carefully verifying which variables are used. Recently, studies have also evaluated the risk of HCC using risk prediction models through transient elastography and artificial intelligence (AI) system. These HCC risk predication models are also noteworthy. In this review, we aimed to compare HCC risk prediction models in patients with CHB infection reported to date to confirm variables used and specificity between each model to determine an appropriate HCC risk prediction method.