National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) shared on LinkedIn:
“Can we now predict who’s at greatest risk for liver cancer recurrence?
Congratulations to NCCS’ Professor Pierce Chow, Associate Professor Wai Leong Tam, Mr. Karthik Sekar, and as well as A*STAR GIS. Dr Ying Zhang on their latest study published in Gut, which uncovers new molecular pathways driving disease recurrence and introduces a new tool to predict it.
What Was Studied and Discovered:
The primary liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide and frequently recurs after surgery. Yet, until now, clinicians have lacked reliable means to identify which patients face the greatest risk. This has made it challenging to tailor follow-up care, select patients for additional treatment and design clinical trials effectively.
Analysing tumour samples from liver cancer patients, the Singapore team identified 2 distinct novel molecular pathways through which it recurs. These insights were used to develop a machine-learning tool that predicts a patient’s risk of recurrence after surgery. Validated across 3 independent cohorts, the tool demonstrated robustness, achieving a performance score of 86%, compared with 56–68% for the commonly used TNM staging system, which does not account for cancer genetics.
Why is matters:
This work advances our understanding of liver cancer evolution and lays the groundwork for more precise therapies to prevent post-surgical recurrence. It also offers a new way to match patients to clinical trials most likely to benefit them, a big step forward for a disease that remains difficult to treat.
Read the full press release here.”
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