Performance status as a prognostic surrogate in hepatocellular carcinoma: Role of albumin–bilirubin and easy-albumin–bilirubin grade

Background: Performance status (PS) is associated with the severity of liver cirrhosis and is also an important survival determinant in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Albumin–bilirubin (ALBI) grade and easy (EZ)-ALBI grade have been proposed to evaluate liver dysfunction in HCC, but their role in patients with different PS is unclear. We aimed to investigate the prognostic role of ALBI and EZ-ALBI grade in a large HCC cohort with variable PS. Methods: A total of 3355 newly diagnosed HCC patients between 2002 and 2018 were identified and retrospectively analyzed. Independent prognostic predictors associated with survival were investigated using the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Patients with poor PS had decreased survival compared with those with good PS. In the Cox model, creatinine ≥1.2 mg/dL, α-fetoprotein (AFP) ≥20 ng/mL, vascular invasion, distant metastasis, total tumor volume >100 cm 3 , presence of ascites, ALBI grades 2 and 3, EZ-ALBI grade 2 and grade 3, PS 1–4, and noncurative treatment were independently associated with higher mortality in the entire cohort (all p < 0.001). ALBI grade and EZ-ALBI grade can well stratify overall survival in subgroup patients with PS 0, PS 1–2, and PS 3–4 (all p < 0.001). Conclusion: Patients with good PS have better long-term survival compared with those with poor PS. ALBI and EZ-ALBI grade can discriminate long-term outcome in the entire cohort as well as in patients with different PS. ALBI and EZ-ALBI are objective and feasible prognostic models to evaluate liver dysfunction in HCC patients independent of PS.