Novel histological scoring for predicting disease outcome in primary sclerosing cholangitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a progressive cholestatic liver disease that may lead to liver cirrhosis or cholangiocarcinoma. Liver histology and fibrosis stage are predictive markers of disease progression, and histological cirrhosis is defined as a significant endpoint. PSC-specific histological scoring methods are lacking at present. We aimed to develop a tailored classification system for PSC, the PSC histoscore, based on histological features associated with disease progression.

In total, 300 PSC patients diagnosed between 1988 and 2018 were enrolled; their data were collected from the PSC registry (Helsinki University Hospital), and liver specimens were obtained from the Biobank of Helsinki. Five histological features included in the adapted Nakanuma scoring system and three additional parameters typical for PSC histology were evaluated and compared with the clinical and laboratory data. A compound endpoint consisting of liver transplantation, development of cholangiocarcinoma, or death was used as outcome measurement.

Stage (fibrosis, bile duct loss, ductular reaction, and chronic cholestasis) and grade (portal inflammation, portal edema, hepatitis activity, and cholangitis activity) parameters were found to be independent predictive risk factors for the compound endpoint (P < 0.001). High disease grade (2-6) and stage (2-4) better correlated with clinical endpoints when evaluated with the PSC histoscore system compared to the adapted Nakanuma classification. The risk for disease progression in sequential endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) examinations was increased with elevated total PSC histoscores.

The PSC histoscore is a novel histological classification system for PSC. Our findings support the applicability of liver histology as a marker for disease progression.