Assessment of Albumin-Incorporating Scores at Hepatocellular Carcinoma Diagnosis Using Machine Learning Techniques: An Evaluation of Prognostic Relevance

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) presents high mortality rates worldwide, with limited evidence on prognostic factors at diagnosis. This study evaluates the utility of common scores incorporating albumin as predictors of mortality at HCC diagnosis using Machine Learning techniques. They are also compared to other scores and variables commonly used. A retrospective cohort study was conducted with 191 patients from Virgen de la Luz Hospital of Cuenca and University Hospital of Guadalajara. Demographic, analytical, and tumor-specific variables were included. Various Machine Learning algorithms were implemented, with eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) as the reference method. In the predictive model developed, the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer score was the best predictor of mortality, closely followed by the Platelet-Albumin-Bilirubin and Albumin-Bilirubin scores. Albumin levels alone also showed high relevance. Other scores, such as C-Reactive Protein/albumin and Child-Pugh performed less effectively. XGB proved to be the most accurate method across the metrics analyzed, outperforming other ML algorithms. In conclusion, the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer, Platelet-Albumin-Bilirubin and Albumin-Bilirubin scores are highly reliable for assessing survival at HCC diagnosis. The XGB-developed model proved to be the most reliable for this purpose compared to the other proposed methods.