Publications by authors named "Yonghan Paik"
Background: Serum ferritin has been suggested as a potential biomarker associated with disease progression in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
Aims: We investigated the association between serum ferritin levels and liver-related events (LREs) in individuals with steatotic liver disease (SLD).
Methods: This cohort study included 17,560 adults with SLD (MASLD [n = 15,744], MASLD with increased alcohol intake (MetALD) [n = 1103] and cryptogenic SLD [n = 713]) without LRE at baseline.
Introduction: Steatotic liver disease (SLD) is a new overarching term proposed to replace nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease. Subclassification includes metabolic dysfunction-associated SLD (MASLD), MASLD with increased alcohol intake (MetALD), and cryptogenic SLD. This study aimed to investigate whether SLD and its subclassification could stratify hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) often arises in the cirrhotic livers, highlighting the intricate link between hepatic fibrosis and carcinogenesis. Reactive oxygen species produced by NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) contribute to liver injury leading to hepatic fibrosis. Paradoxically, NOX4 is known to inhibit HCC progression.
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- - The study aimed to create and validate a prognostic model for assessing the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in noncirrhotic adults with chronic hepatitis B, focusing on those without significant alanine aminotransferase (ALT) elevation.
- - Researchers analyzed data from over 13,000 patients across several cohorts in Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong, finding that baseline HBV DNA levels were key predictors of HCC risk, especially at moderate viral loads.
- - The new model, called Revised REACH-B, showed strong predictive accuracy and was more beneficial compared to other strategies in predicting HCC risk, though its applicability to other racial groups remains a limitation.
Article Synopsis
- Hepatic fibrosis is a chronic liver condition driven by excessive extracellular matrix production, where hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are activated by inflammatory factors like sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P).
- The study explored how S1P affects YAP activation in HSCs, utilizing various methods to reveal that S1P receptor 2 (S1PR2) is crucial for this process and that it activates the Hippo signaling pathway, leading to the expression of fibrosis-related genes.
- Findings indicate that the S1P/S1PR2 signaling pathway could be a potential therapeutic target for treating hepatic fibrosis, as it significantly influences the production of key proteins involved in the
International liver societies recommend hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance for those at high-risk of developing HCC. While previous studies have shown the benefits of surveillance for middle-aged patients, but its necessity for elderly patients is unclear. This study aimed to assess the benefits of HCC surveillance in the elderly by comparing diagnosis mode of HCC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aims: Atezolizumab and bevacizumab have shown promising results for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in clinical trials. In this study, the real-world efficacy and safety of atezolizumab and bevacizumab in treating advanced HCC were evaluated.
Methods: In this retrospective study of patients at a Korean tertiary cancer center, 111 patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage B or C HCC received atezolizumab and bevacizumab as first-line therapy from May 2022 to June 2023.
Backgrounds/aims: Systemic therapy is the current standard treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with extrahepatic metastasis (EHM). However, some patients with HCC and EHM undergo transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) to manage intrahepatic tumors. Herein, we aimed to explore the appropriateness of TACE in patients with HCC and EHM in an era of advanced systemic therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aims: Improved knowledge of local epidemiology and predicting risk factors of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are required to optimize the management of infections. This study examined local epidemiology and antibiotic resistance patterns of liver cirrhosis (LC) patients and evaluated the predictors of MDR bacteremia in Korea.
Methods: This was a retrospective study including 140 LC patients diagnosed with bacteremia between January 2017 and December 2022.
Introduction: We aimed to investigate whether concurrent use of intrahepatic external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is a viable option for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy.
Methods: A total of 453 patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage C (BCLC C) HCC, who started first-line treatment with TKI with intrahepatic EBRT (TKI + RT, = 97) or TKI without intrahepatic EBRT (TKI, = 356) were analyzed. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were compared in the overall cohort, patients who received at least 8 weeks of TKI treatment and a propensity score-matched cohort.
Background/aim: Patients with large (>5 cm) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have limited treatment options, thus necessitating the identification of prognostic factors and the development of predictive tools. This study aimed to identify prognostic factors and to construct a nomogram to predict survival outcomes in patients with large HCC.
Methods: A cohort of 438 patients, who were diagnosed with large HCC at a tertiary hospital between 2015 and 2018, was analyzed.
Background & Aims: The metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a new inclusive term proposed to replace non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We analysed whether hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk differs by MAFLD or NAFLD status in a large sample of asymptomatic adults.
Methods: A cohort comprising 73,691 adults were followed up for the development of HCC.
Purpose: To report the trends of radiotherapy in the management of elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who entered HCC registry of Samsung Medical Center between 2005 and 2017. Patients who were 75 years or older at the time of registration were defined as elderly.
Normalization of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels is one of the goals of hepatitis B treatment. However, ALT levels in cirrhosis patients might be normal or mildly elevated regardless of ongoing inflammation. Therefore, we examined whether on-treatment ALT and other potential on-treatment indicators could be clinical surrogates of antiviral therapy in HBV-related cirrhosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Baveno VII consensus introduced the non-invasive criteria of clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) using liver stiffness measurement (LSM). We evaluated the usefulness of the Baveno VII criteria to predict the risk of decompensation in patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD).
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 1966 patients with cACLD.
Background/aims: The ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) response score (URS) was developed to identify poor responders to UDCA before treatment, in order to offer timely and proactive intervention. However, validation of the URS in Asian population is warranted.
Methods: A total of 173 Asian patients diagnosed with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) between 2007 and 2016 at seven academic institutions in Korea who started UDCA treatment were analyzed to validate the performance of URS.
Background/aims: This study aimed to investigate whether pretransplant frailty can predict postoperative morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation (LT) in patients with cirrhosis.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 242 patients who underwent LT between 2018 and 2020 at a tertiary hospital in Korea.
Results: Among them, 189 patients (78.
Background/aims: This study aimed to investigate the effect of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance using the Korea National Liver Cancer Screening Program on the receipt of curative treatment for HCC and mortality in patients with chronic liver disease.
Methods: This population-based cohort study from the Korean National Health Insurance Service included 2003 to 2015 claims data collected from 1,209,825 patients aged ≥40 years with chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C, and liver cirrhosis. Patients were divided according to HCC surveillance using ultrasonography and serum alpha-fetoprotein every 6-12 months.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated the relationship between hepatobiliary MRI findings and the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with liver cirrhosis or chronic liver disease.
- Of the 199 patients analyzed, HCC was diagnosed in 14.1%, with zero cases found in those with low-risk MRI features, highlighting the importance of these findings.
- Results showed that those with high-risk features had significantly longer times to HCC diagnosis compared to those with high-risk nodules, suggesting that MRI findings can effectively serve as biomarkers for HCC risk assessment.
Background: This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and macroscopic tumor thrombosis who were treated with lenvatinib with or without combined liver-directed radiotherapy (LRT).
Methods: From the institutional registry, we enrolled 82 patients diagnosed with HCC involving macroscopic tumor thrombosis and treated with lenvatinib monotherapy (non-LRT group, n = 54, 65.9%) or lenvatinib in combination with LRT (LRT group, n = 28, 34.
Changes in the prevalence of disease over time provide valuable information from a public health perspective. We used data from Korea Military Manpower Administration medical examinations for conscription between 2003 and 2019 (n = 5,355,941), which involved young men aged 19 years, to observe changes in liver disease over time at a population level. Trends in the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, obesity, and hypertension were assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer cachexia affects quality of life, response to chemotherapy, and survival in many advanced cancer patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment cachexia index (CXI) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with systematic chemotherapy. Patients with advanced HCC treated with lenvatinib therapy between October 2018 and October 2020 were retrospectively studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Some hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients show undetectable serum HBV DNA levels at HCC diagnosis. The risk of HBV reactivation and its impact on clinical outcomes are not well-unknown.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study included a total of 985 HBV-related HCC patients with undetectable serum HBV DNA levels (< 12 IU/mL) at HCC diagnosis (112 were antiviral treatment (AVT)-naïve; 873 were receiving AVT).
Background: Some young adults with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection might be at high risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), enough to justify regular HCC surveillance despite the young age of the patients. However, ways to identify at-risk individuals who may benefit from HCC surveillance need further evaluations.
Methods: A hospital-based retrospective cohort of 2757 chronic HBV mono-infected young adults (median age: 34 years, males 66%) were analyzed.