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The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of body composition on the risk of portopulmonary hypertension using computed tomography (CT) in patients with liver cirrhosis. We retrospectively included 148 patients with cirrhosis treated at our hospital between March 2012 and December 2020. POPH high-risk was defined as main pulmonary artery diameter (mPA-D) ≥ 29 mm or mPA-D to ascending aorta diameter ratio ≥ 1.0, based on chest CT. Body composition was assessed using CT images of the third lumbar vertebra. The factors associated with POPH high-risk were evaluated using logistic regression and decision tree analyses, respectively. Among the 148 patients, 50% were females, and 31% were found to be high-risk cases on evaluation of chest CT images. Patients with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 mg/m2 had a significantly higher prevalence of POPH high-risk than those with a BMI < 25 mg/m2 (47% vs. 25%, p = 0.019). After adjusting for confounding factors, BMI (odds ratio [OR], 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10–1.33), subcutaneous adipose tissue index (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01–1.03), and visceral adipose tissue index (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01–1.04) were associated with POPH high-risk, respectively. In the decision tree analysis, the strongest classifier of POPH high-risk was BMI, followed by the skeletal muscle index. Body composition may affect the risk of POPH based on chest CT assessment in patients with cirrhosis. Since the present study lacked data on right heart catheterization, further studies are required to confirm the results of our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Sarcopenia, the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength, is associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study indicated that lenvatinib treatment significantly exacerbated the decrease in skeletal muscle mass, whereas atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (AB) treatment did not. Furthermore, skeletal muscle mass was found to be an independent predictor of survival, together with alpha-fetoprotein and albumin-bilirubin scores, using time-varying covariates in the Cox proportional hazards model. These findings suggest that maintaining a relatively high skeletal muscle mass during AB treatment is advantageous for improving the prognosis of HCC chemotherapy. This study aimed to evaluate chronological changes in skeletal muscle index (SMI), subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue indices (SATI and VATI), AFP, PIVKA-II, and ALBI scores during atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (AB) or lenvatinib (LEN) treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the effect of these changes on survival. A total of 94 patients with HCC (37 were on AB and 57 on LEN) were enrolled. SMI, SATI, VATI, AFP, PIVKA-II, and ALBI scores were analyzed at the time of the treatment introduction (Intro), 3 months after the introduction (3M), at drug discontinuation (End), and the last observational time (Last). The differences between chronological changes were analyzed using the Wilcoxon paired test. The independent predictors for survival and the changes in SMI during AB or LEN (c-SMI%) were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model treating all these factors as time-varying covariates and the analysis of covariance, respectively. SMI in the AB group was maintained over time (42.9–44.0–40.6–44.2 cm2/m2), whereas that in the LEN group significantly decreased during the Intro–3M (p < 0.05) and 3M–End (p < 0.05) period (46.5–45.1–42.8–42.1 cm2/m2). SMI (p < 0.001) was an independent predictor for survival together with AFP (p = 0.004) and ALBI score (p < 0.001). Drug choice (AB or LEN; p = 0.038) and PIVKA-II (p < 0.001) were extracted as independent predictors for c-SMI%. AB treatment was significantly superior to LEN in terms of maintaining skeletal muscle, which is an independent predictor for survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Skeletal muscle depletion is one of the established prognostic factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study clearly demonstrated that skeletal muscle mass continued to decrease significantly during lenvatinib (LEN) or sorafenib (SOR) treatment, which has recently played a major role in the treatment of unresectable HCC. Furthermore, the survival analysis using time-varying covariates in this study revealed that it was one of the independent prognostic factors together with tumor makers and liver functional reserve. These results can help improve the management of unresectable HCC because they suggest that it is essential to prevent skeletal muscle depletion, especially in using LEN/SOR to improve survival in HCC patients. This study aimed to assess the effects of lenvatinib (LEN) or sorafenib (SOR) treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on body composition and changes in body composition on survival. This study enrolled 77 HCC patients. Skeletal muscle index (SMI), subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue indices (SATI and VATI), AFP, PIVKA-II, and ALBI scores were analyzed at the time of LEN/SOR introduction, three months after the introduction, at treatment discontinuation, and the last observational time. The differences between chronological changes in these values were analyzed using a paired t-test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze prognostic factors using time-varying covariates. The chronological changes in each factor were 45.5–43.6–40.6–39.8 (cm2/m2) for SMI, 41.7–41.6–36.3–33.7 (cm2/m2) for SATI, 41.9–41.1–37.1–34.8 (cm2/m2) for VATI, 2.379–26.42–33.61–36.32 (×103 ng/mL) for AFP, 9.404–13.39–61.34–25.70 (×103 mAU/mL) for PIVKA-II, and −2.56–−2.38–−1.99–−1.90 for the ALBI score. The presence of pre-treatment (p = 0.042), AFP (p = 0.002), PIVKA-II (p < 0.001), ALBI score (p < 0.001), and SMI (p = 0.001) were independent prognostic factors. Skeletal muscle mass decreases significantly during LEN/SOR treatment and is an independent prognostic factor for HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurring in non-cirrhotic livers is often overlooked in clinical practice because the present HCC surveillance strategies usually focus only on patients with cirrhotic livers. This study aimed to determine the risk factors for HCC among viral hepatitis patients with non-cirrhotic livers. The findings of this study could be very useful in detecting HCC at an early stage, especially in patients with viral hepatitis who may not have developed extensive cirrhosis. This study aimed to determine the risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in non-cirrhotic livers among viral hepatitis patients. A total of 333 HCC cases, including 69 hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related and 264 hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related, were divided into cirrhotic (Fibrosis-4 [FIB-4] index > 3.25) and non-cirrhotic groups (FIB-4 index ≤ 3.25). The clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared. The independent risk factors for the development of HCC were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The patients with HBV-related HCC were significantly younger, had better Child-Pugh scores, lower FIB-4 index and Mac-2 binding protein glycosylated isomers (M2BPGi) levels, more progressive cancer stage, and higher alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels than those with HCV-related HCC. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension were less common in patients with HBV-related HCC. The non-cirrhotic group with HBV-related HCC had a higher visceral adipose tissue index (VATI), better Child-Pugh score, and higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), whereas the one with HCV-related HCC had a higher proportion of men, higher VATI, better Child-Pugh score, higher HbA1c, and a higher prevalence of hypertension, than the corresponding cirrhotic groups. Logistic regression analyses demonstrated that age, male sex, VATI, HbA1c, the presence of hypertension, and HBV etiology were independent risk factors for HCC in a non-cirrhotic liver. A high accumulation of VAT is a risk factor for HCC in patients with non-cirrhotic livers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: With the increasing prevalence of obesity and diabetes in most countries, the increase in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with these factors has recently become a serious healthcare problem. HCC can often emerge in the non-cirrhotic liver among obese patients, and it might suggest that the conventional surveillance strategies for HCC, which is mainly targeted at cirrhotic patients with hepatitis B or C virus, might be insufficient in the overnutrition era. We tried to extract factors that affect recurrence-free survival in patients with non-viral HCC, among obesity and diabetes factors, together with the established recurrence risk factors, using a decision-tree analysis. We investigated the factors affecting recurrence-free survival in patients with non-B non-C hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who received curative treatment. Decision-tree analysis was performed in 72 curative cases of non-B non-C HCC to extract the risk factors for recurrence. The reliability of the extracted risk factors was evaluated using the Kaplan–Meier method and the Cox proportional hazards model. The decision-tree analysis extracted three factors—visceral adipose tissue (VAT) index (VATI; <71 and ≥71 cm2/m2), which was the cross-sectional areas of VAT on the computed tomographic image at the umbilical level, normalized by the square of the height, fasting immunoreactive insulin (FIRI; <5.5 and ≥5.5 µU/mL), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP; <11 and ≥11 ng/mL). The Cox proportional hazards model showed that VATI (hazard ratio (HR): 2.556, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.191–5.486, p = 0.016), FIRI (HR: 3.149, 95% CI: 1.156–8.575, p = 0.025), and AFP (HR: 3.362, 95% CI: 1.550–7.288, p = 0.002) were all independent risk factors for HCC recurrence. Non-B non-C HCC patients with a higher VATI (≥71 cm2/m2) or higher FIRI (≥5.5 µU/mL) and AFP (≥11 ng/mL) if VATI was <71 cm2/m2 are prone to recurrence after curative treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to assess the annualized changes in body composition, including skeletal muscle, subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) before, during, and after sorafenib treatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This retrospective study evaluated 61 HCC patients treated with sorafenib. Annualized changes (Δ; cm2/m2/year) in skeletal muscle index (SMI), SAT index (SATI), and VAT index (VATI), which were defined as the cross-sectional areas (cm2) of those areas on computed tomography normalized by the square of one's height (m2), before (pre), during (during), and after (post) sorafenib treatment, were calculated. Patients within the 20th percentile cutoffs for these indices were classified into the rapid depletion group and the effects of these values on survival were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional-hazards model. Annualized depletion rates of SMI (ΔSMIpre: −3.5, ΔSMIduring: −3.5, ΔSMIpost: −8.0) and VATI (ΔVATIpre: −3.2, ΔVATIduring: −2.8, ΔVATIpost: −15.1) accelerated after the cancellation of sorafenib, whereas that of SATI (ΔSATIpre: −4.8, ΔSATIduring; −7.6, ΔSATIpost; −8.0) had already accelerated during sorafenib treatment. Patients with rapid depletion of ΔSATIduring experienced significantly worse survival rates (p < 0.001), and it was an independent predictor of survival (p = 0.009), together with therapeutic effect (p < 0.001). Rapid depletion of SAT during sorafenib treatment can be used to predict survival in patients with HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate whether rapid depletions of fat mass and skeletal muscle mass predict mortality in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients treated with sorafenib. This retrospective study evaluated 61 HCC patients. The cross-sectional areas of visceral and subcutaneous fat mass and skeletal muscle mass were measured by computed tomography, from which the visceral fat mass index (VFMI), subcutaneous fat mass index (SFMI), and skeletal muscle index (L3SMI) were obtained. The relative changes in these indices per 120 days (ΔVFMI, ΔSFMI, and ΔL3SMI) before and after sorafenib treatment were calculated in each patient. Patients within the 20th percentile cutoffs for these indices were classified into the rapid depletion (RD) group. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that with respect to ΔL3SMI (p = 0.0101) and ΔSFMI (p = 0.0027), the RD group had a significantly poorer survival. Multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional-hazards model also demonstrated that ΔL3SMI (≤−5.73 vs. >−5.73; hazard ratio [HR]: 4.010, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.799–8.938, p = < 0.001) and ΔSFMI (≤−5.33 vs. >−5.33; HR: 4.109, 95% CI: 1.967–8.584, p = < 0.001) were independent predictors. Rapid depletions of subcutaneous fat mass and skeletal muscle mass after the introduction of sorafenib indicate a poor prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]