Table 4.
ML-based prognostic model characteristics of HCC patients after RFA
| Author | ML Algorithms | Prediction Target | Key Predictive Factors | Main Results/Performance Metrics | Model Validation & Interpretability | Other Important Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamed 2024 [53] | XGBoost | Disease control at 12 months | Child-Pugh score, WBC count, Heparan concentration, Diabetes, Hypertension, Tumor size, AFP | Accuracy and AUC are 78.9% and 0.80, respectively | Internal validation | 1-year survival and local control rates are 94.6% and 61.3%, respectively |
| Tong 2021 [54] | RF, LR, LightGBM, GBDT, Decision Tree | Total mortality | PLT, AFP, Age, Tumor size, Total bilirubin | GBDT has the highest accuracy (0.681), precision (0.721), AUC: 0.714 | Internal validation | NA |
| Sato 2024 [55] | Transformer-based ML model (SurvTRACE) | OS | Age, Gender, Number and size of tumors, Liver function indicators (Albumin, Total bilirubin, AST, ALT), Tumor markers (AFP, DCP), Hepatitis virus infection status, Platelet count, Prothrombin time | C-index of 0.69 | Internal and external validation | 5-year and 10-year survival rates are 63.7% and 30.4%, respectively. 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year local tumor recurrence rates are 1.7%, 5.3%, and 6.5%, respectively |
| Zhang 2024 [56] | Lasso regression and Cox regression analysis | RFS | Age, Gender, BCLC stage, Tumor size, Glob, γ-GT | AUC for 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year RFS are 0.721, 0.756, and 0.779, respectively | Internal validation | NA |
| He 2023 [57] | LR, SVM, RF, KNN, XGBoost | CSS | Liver cirrhosis, Tumor size, AFP level, Age, Marital status | XGBoost model’s AUC for predicting 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year CSS are 0.88, 0.81, and 0.79, respectively | Internal validation | Compared to other treatment modalities, RFA shows better performance in improving OS and CSS for patients with single HCC ≤ 5 cm, but still lower than hepatectomy |
RFA: Radiofrequency Ablation; RF: Random Forest; PLT: Platelet Count; DCP: Des gamma Carboxyprothrombin; RFS: Recurrence-Free Survival; BCLC: Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer; Glob: Globulin; γ-GT: γ-Glutamyl Transpeptidase; CSS: Cancer-Specific Survival; c-index: Concordance Index; AFP: Alpha-Fetoprotein.