Risk prediction of acute variceal bleeding in hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing systemic therapy based on immune checkpoint inhibitors

Figure 1 Retrospective selection process of patients. A total of 395 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who received systemic therapy between January 2021 and December 2022 were initially screened. Patients were excluded due to non–HCC (n = 6), concurrent malignant tumors of other systems (n = 10), severe heart, lung, or liver disease (Child-Pugh C > 9) or kidney dysfunction (n = 17), absence of cirrhosis (n = 15), history of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (n = 4), history of previous systemic therapy (n = 21), incomplete data (n = 36). The final cohort included 286 patients for analysis. ICIs: Immune checkpoint inhibitors; TIPS: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt.