HALP Score Predicts Early Post-Transplant Outcomes: A 25-Year Retrospective Study on Hepatocellular Carcinoma and...

Area of Science:

• Hepatology
• Transplantation Immunology
• Oncology

Background:

• The Hemoglobin-Albumin-Lymphocyte-Platelet (HALP) score is an established immune nutritional marker for various cancers.
• Its prognostic value in liver transplantation (LT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prognostic impact of the HALP score on survival and recurrence in patients undergoing LT for HCC.
• To determine if the HALP score can predict early post-transplant outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 131 HCC patients undergoing LT.
• Patients categorized into high and low HALP groups using ROC analysis (threshold 55.689).
• Analysis of overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and perioperative mortality via Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression.

Main Results:

• The low HALP group showed significantly higher perioperative mortality (18.3% vs. 5.6%) and mortality at 1 and 3 years (30.0% vs. 9.9%, 48.3% vs. 22.5%).
• Overall survival was significantly shorter for patients with a low HALP score (P = .003).
• Low HALP was an independent risk factor for perioperative, first-year, and third-year mortality.

Conclusions:

• The HALP score is a valuable prognostic biomarker for early risk assessment in LT candidates with HCC.
• Incorporating the HALP score into pre-transplant evaluations can potentially improve patient selection and perioperative management.
• Utilizing the HALP score may lead to better post-transplant outcomes for HCC patients.