Prognostic implication of serum vascular endothelial growth factor in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma staging.

Background: Staging systems have considerable impact on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment approaches and outcomes. There is an unmet need to improve their stratification ability. We have evaluated four commonly used staging systems and assessed whether angiogenic biomarker vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) could improve their prognostic stratification.