Publications by authors named "Scheiner B"
Background And Aims: Porto-sinusoidal vascular disorder (PSVD) is a rare vascular liver disorder characterised by specific histological findings in the absence of cirrhosis, which is poorly understood in terms of pathophysiology. While elevated hepatic copper content serves as diagnostic hallmark in Wilson disease (WD), hepatic copper content has not yet been investigated in PSVD.
Methods: Patients with a verified diagnosis of PSVD at the Medical University of Vienna and available hepatic copper content at the time of diagnosis of PSVD were retrospectively included.
Age and biological sex are risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence, but their impact on overall survival (OS) is a matter of debate. This study aims to investigate how sex and age at diagnosis, along with other associated factors (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: The outcome of patients with HCC who achieved complete response (CR) to immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based systemic therapies is unclear.
Approach And Results: Retrospective study of patients with HCC who had CR according to modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (CR-mRECIST) to ICI-based systemic therapies from 28 centers in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Of 3933 patients with HCC treated with ICI-based noncurative systemic therapies, 174 (4.
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on identifying unique metabolomic signatures in patients with porto-sinusoidal vascular disorder (PSVD) and cirrhosis to improve diagnosis.
- Serum samples from healthy volunteers and patients with PSVD or cirrhosis were analyzed using advanced techniques like liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, identifying significant metabolic changes linked to PSVD.
- Machine learning models were developed to distinguish PSVD from cirrhosis and healthy controls; key metabolites like taurocholic acid showed strong potential for non-invasive diagnostic use.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the impact of cancer cachexia in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), focusing on how body composition changes over time can help identify cachexia.
- It utilizes a cohort of unresectable HCC patients treated with specific therapies, analyzing body composition through CT scans to categorize patients into different cachexia phases based on their skeletal muscle mass and total adipose tissue.
- Findings reveal that patients experiencing significant declines in muscle and tissue mass have worse overall survival outcomes, highlighting the importance of monitoring body composition in HCC treatment plans.
Article Synopsis
- Immunotherapy combinations are the standard treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with growing evidence supporting lenvatinib as a strong first-line option.
- A retrospective study analyzed 412 patients treated with either atezolizumab/bevacizumab (AZ/BV) or lenvatinib (LEN) across 18 European hospitals, revealing that those on AZ/BV experienced longer progression-free survival.
- Despite comparable survival rates between the two treatments overall, AZ/BV posed a higher risk of liver issues in patients with pre-existing liver function impairment, highlighting the need for careful patient monitoring.
Article Synopsis
- The LiverRisk score is a proposed blood test aimed at estimating liver stiffness and identifying patients at risk for compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD) and liver-related events without prior known liver issues.
- In a study involving nearly 7,500 patients, the score's diagnostic performance was evaluated against established methods like FIB-4 and APRI, revealing that while it moderately correlates with liver stiffness measurements, it tends to underestimate them.
- Although the LiverRisk score demonstrated decent accuracy for predicting cACLD and hepatic decompensation, its limitations include a low negative predictive value, indicating it might not effectively rule out disease in some patients.
Background And Aims: We aimed to characterise insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signalling in patients with advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD).
Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing hepatic venous pressure gradient [HVPG] measurement were prospectively included. Clinical stages were defined as follows: probable ACLD (pACLD): liver stiffness ≥10 kPa and HVPG ≤5 mmHg, S0: mild PH (HVPG 6-9 mmHg), S1: clinically significant PH (CSPH), S2: CSPH with varices, S3: past variceal bleeding, S4: past/current non-bleeding hepatic decompensation and S5: further decompensation.
Article Synopsis
- - The study aimed to understand the natural history and prognostic factors of porto-sinusoidal vascular disorder (PSVD) by analyzing a large cohort of 587 patients across 27 centers, finding that the majority were asymptomatic at diagnosis, but many experienced complications related to portal hypertension.
- - Over a median follow-up of 68 months, 8.5% of patients underwent liver transplantation, while 19% died, highlighting significant risks like portal hypertension-related bleeding and ascites, as well as the impact of age and liver function on prognosis.
- - The findings indicate that the severity of underlying conditions and liver/renal function significantly influence survival chances, leading to the development of a nomogram for more accurate prognosis prediction in
Introduction And Objectives: Autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) are rare causes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and data on the efficacy and tolerability of anti-tumor therapies are scarce. This pan-European study aimed to assess outcomes in AILD-HCC patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) or transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) compared with patients with more common HCC etiologies, including viral, alcoholic or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Materials And Methods: 107 patients with HCC-AILD (AIH:55; PBC:52) treated at 13 European centres between 1996 and 2020 were included.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the role of histamine in advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD) and its potential as a prognostic marker.
- It includes 251 patients with ACLD, finding that higher plasma histamine levels correlate with circulatory dysfunction, but levels do not significantly vary across different stages of liver disease.
- Elevated histamine levels are independently associated with an increased risk of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) or liver-related death over a median follow-up of 29.2 months.
Background: Optimal anticoagulation management in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) experiencing splanchnic vein thrombosis (SpVT) requires balancing risks of bleeding and recurrent thrombosis.
Objectives: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the incidence of bleeding and thrombosis recurrence in patients with MPN-SpVT.
Methods: We included retrospective or prospective studies in English with ≥10 adult patients with MPN-SpVT.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigated zinc and selenium deficiency in 309 patients with advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD) and found that 73% were deficient in zinc and 63% in selenium, indicating a high prevalence of these deficiencies in this population.
- - It was observed that patients with decompensated ACLD had significantly lower levels of both trace elements compared to those with compensated ACLD, and there were strong correlations between zinc/selenium levels and disease severity indicators like MELD and HVPG.
- - Low levels of zinc and selenium were independently associated with worsening liver-related events, including hepatic decompensation and liver-related death, suggesting that future research should explore the benefits of zinc/selenium supplementation for these patients.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the impact of hepatic functional reserve and tumor progression on overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing combination immunotherapy with atezolizumab and bevacizumab.
- Out of 571 patients analyzed, a significant portion developed tumor progression, while a smaller group experienced hepatic decompensation, both of which greatly affected survival outcomes.
- Key predictors of poor survival included hepatic decompensation, advanced tumor progression, and specific baseline liver function metrics, with effective antiviral treatment showing potential protective effects against decompensation in patients with viral causes of HCC.
Importance: Whether patients with Child-Pugh class B (CP-B) cancer with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) benefit from active anticancer treatment vs best supportive care (BSC) is debated.
Objective: To evaluate the association of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapies vs BSC with overall survival (OS) of patients with uHCC and CP-B liver dysfunction.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective, multicenter, international clinical case series examined data of patients with CP-B with uHCC who were receiving first-line ICI-based regimens from September 2017 to December 2022 whose data were extracted from an international consortium and compared with a cohort of patients with CP-B receiving BSC.
Introduction: The tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) sorafenib and lenvatinib represent the first-line systemic therapy of choice for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after liver transplantation (LT). Under sorafenib and lenvatinib, HCC patients have shown increasingly improved overall survival in clinical studies over the years. In contrast, data on overall survival for patients with HCC recurrence after LT under TKIs are scarce and limited to small retrospective series.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvolution of liver function during immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma.
United European Gastroenterol J
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- In a study of 182 patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), liver function was evaluated over 6 months, showing that 56% improved or stabilized after 3 months.* -
- After 6 months, similar outcomes were noted, with improved liver function linked to better overall survival rates, highlighting the effectiveness of ICIs compared to only 34% improvement in patients treated with sorafenib.* -
- Notably, 46% of patients with worse liver function at baseline showed improvement after 3 months on ICIs, indicating the potential for recovery even in more severe cases.*
Background: Anaemia is frequent in patients with cancer and/or liver cirrhosis and is associated with impaired quality of life. Here, we investigated the impact of anaemia on overall survival (OS) and clinical characteristics in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Materials And Methods: HCC patients treated between 1992 and 2018 at the Medical University of Vienna were retrospectively analysed.
Article Synopsis
- A study evaluated the efficacy and safety of first-line therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), specifically comparing atezolizumab/bevacizumab (atezo/bev) and lenvatinib, focusing on bleeding and thromboembolic events.
- A total of 464 patients from seven centers in Germany and Austria were analyzed, revealing that bleeding and thromboembolic events occurred in similar rates for both treatments within 6 months.
- The findings suggest that safety concerns regarding bleeding and thromboembolic events might not significantly influence clinical decisions when selecting between atezo/bev and lenvatinib for HCC treatment.*
Article Synopsis
- * The study found that CytoSorb treatment significantly reduced levels of bilirubin, procalcitonin, and interleukin-6, which are key biomarkers in ACLF, with ICU survivors showing better relative improvements.
- * No severe complications were linked to CytoSorb, suggesting its safety; however, further prospective research is needed to fully understand its impact on the clinical outcomes of ACLF patients with high cytok
Article Synopsis
- The Hammersmith Score (HS) is a validated prognostic tool that helps predict response and survival rates in early-phase cancer trial participants based on routine biochemical measures.
- A study analyzed 212 patient referrals, finding that HS significantly predicted overall survival and outperformed the Royal Marsden Score (RMS) in its predictive ability.
- HS offers a simple and cost-effective method to improve patient selection and referral for early-phase cancer trials, especially in the context of modern cancer immunotherapy.
Background And Aims: The prognostic performance of von Willebrand factor (VWF) may vary across clinical stages of advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD). Therefore, we investigated the evolution of VWF and other biomarkers throughout the full ACLD spectrum and evaluated their stage-specific prognostic utility.
Methods: We retrospectively included Viennese ACLD patients with available information on hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), C-reactive protein (CRP)/VWF levels and outcomes.