Summary: HCC staging
• Adequate cancer staging allows physicians to establish a prognosis for their patients and enables the selection of the best treatment for the individual patient.
• The prognostic ability of the BCLC classification has been validated in several populations and both EASL and AASLD have endorsed this staging system in their treatment guidelines.
• The BCLC staging system classifies HCC patients into five stages. The prognosis prediction in this model is defined by variables related to:
• tumor status (size and number of nodules, the presence/absence of invasion, nodal involvement, metastatic spread).
• liver function (bilirubin level, presence/absence of portal hypertension, preservation of the liver function).
• ECOG PS of patients.
• The treatment allocation for every subclass is based on variables that were shown to impact the therapeutic outcome, such as bilirubin level, portal hypertension, symptomatology and ECOG status.