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The following is a summary of “Evaluating the GALAD Score for Detection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients With Cirrhosis,” published in the November 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Vo et al.  

Early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in individuals with cirrhosis is critical but challenging, affecting treatment and prognosis.  

Researchers conducted a prospective and retrospective study to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the GALAD score for detecting HCC in individuals with cirrhosis.  

They involved 196 adults with cirrhosis, including 102 with HCC and 94 without HCC, comparing the diagnostic performance of the GALAD score with single biomarkers (P<0.001).  

The results showed that the GALAD score was significantly higher in individuals with cirrhosis and HCC (2.5; 95% CI: −2.43 to 11.09) compared to those without HCC (−2.46; 95% CI: −6.15 to 2.04; P<0.001). Individuals with multiple tumors had a notably higher GALAD score than patients with single tumors (P=0.0081), and there was a moderate correlation between the GALAD score and tumor size (r=0.44; P<0.001). The GALAD score had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.91, more increased than all single biomarkers used to detect HCC (all P<0.001). The optimal cutoff for diagnosing HCC was −0.518, with a sensitivity of 87.25%, specificity of 82.98%, positive predictive value of 84.62%, and negative predictive value of 84.78%.  

They concluded that the GALAD score was a promising tool for diagnosing HCC in individuals with cirrhosis, assisting in early detection and tumor characterization.  

Source: journals.lww.com/jcge/fulltext/9900/evaluating_the_galad_score_for_detection_of.370.aspx