Skip to content

ABCR Score in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The ABCR (standing for alphafetoprotein, BCLC, Child-Pugh status and Response) score incorporates four parameters that are associated with patient outcomes and treatment-related factors. Two of these parameters are observed at baseline and are typically linked with overall survival (OS): the BCLC (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer) stage and the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level.

The other two parameters in the ABCR score are treatment-related. One parameter is associated with treatment efficacy, specifically the tumor response to therapy. The second treatment-related parameter is associated with treatment toxicity, specifically an increase of more than one point in the Child-Pugh score, which measures liver function. 

  1. Adhoute X, Penaranda G, Naude S, Raoul JL, Perrier H, Bayle O, Monnet O, Beaurain P, Bazin C, Pol B, Le Folgoc G. Retreatment with TACE: the ABCR SCORE, an aid to the decision-making process. Journal of hepatology. 2015 Apr 1;62(4):855-62.
  2. Karademir S. Staging of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatoma Res. 2018;4:58.
  3. Kinoshita, Akiyoshi et al. “Staging systems for hepatocellular carcinoma: Current status and future perspectives.” World journal of hepatology vol. 7,3 (2015): 406-24. doi:10.4254/wjh.v7.i3.406
  4. Subramaniam, Somasundaram et al. “A review of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) staging systems.” Chinese clinical oncology vol. 2,4 (2013): 33. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2304-3865.2013.07.05
en en