Validation of insulin-like growth factor-1 as a prognostic parameter in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in a European cohort

BACKGROUND: In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, the Child-Turcotte-Pugh score (CTP) is one of the most established tools to assess hepatic reserve and determine survival. Serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) are decreased in patients with chronic liver disease or HCC. A modified score combining circulating IGF-1 with the CTP score (IGF-CTP) was recently proposed. METHODS: IGF-CTP scoring was evaluated in 216 patients diagnosed with HCC between 2007 and 2017 to assess the predictive value of serum IGF-1 levels for patient risk stratification and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Liver cirrhosis was identified in 80.1% of the study cohort, and alcohol-induced liver disease was the most frequent underlying cause of HCC (44.4%). Serum IGF-1 levels were significantly lower in patients with HCC in cirrhosis compared with non-cirrhotic HCC (p < 0.01). A lower serum level of IGF-1 was associated with more advanced stages of liver cirrhosis (p < 0.05) and cancer stages (p < 0.001). Median OS in the cohort was 11.4 months (range 0.5–118.2 months). OS was significantly higher (10.9 vs. 7.9 months; p < 0.05) in patients with a serum IGF-1 level above the median of 43.4 ng/mL. Patient reassignment using IGF-CTP scoring reclassified 35.6% of patients. Through reassignment, stratification regarding OS was comparable to CTP. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to investigate IGF-1 and the IGF-CTP classification in a European cohort of HCC patients. Serum IGF-1 correlates with OS in patients with HCC. However, the IGF-CTP classification was not superior compared to CTP score regarding OS.