The Value of King's Score as a Predictor of Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma among Egyptian Patients with Hepatitis C Virus-Related Cirrhosis

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most prevalent cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Egypt is one of the African countries with a high incidence of HCC. The process of carcinogenesis in the liver, particularly in post-hepatitic necrosis, is related to the severity of liver damage and fibrosis. The present study aimed to investigate the utility of King’s score to identify patients at higher risk of developing HCC among patients with hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis. Method: 58 patients were included in this retrospective case-control study. They were divided into two groups; group I included 29 patients diagnosed with HCC and group II comprised 29 patients without HCC. King’s score was calculated for all the patients based on their pararmeters at the time of diagnosis and their records of one year prior to the diagnosis. Results: King’s score was significantly higher in group I, not only at the time of diagnosis (95.4±45.2 vs. 24.23±7.4, P<0.001), but also when calculated from the patients’ records a year before the diagnosis (70.4±41.8 vs. 17.46±8.2, P<0.001). Conclusion: King’s score can diagnose higher risk of developing HCC up to one year before the appearance of focal lesion.