Journal of Clinical OncologyBreaking the Child-Pugh Dogma in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)

Recently, the ALBI (albumin-bilirubin) score has been developed as an HCC-specific refinement of the Child-Pugh (C-P) score. In this commentary, the authors summarize the limitations of the C-P score, which include subjectivity and inconsistency of versions, as well as lack of sensitivity in patients with mild liver dysfunction. In comparison, the ALBI score “is entirely objective, obviating any need for subjective assessment of clinical signs, that it is derived from an entirely HCC population and is a continuous score that readily lends itself for assessment of changes in liver reserve over time.”