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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2027; 33(2): 123092
Published online Jan 14, 2027. doi: 10.3748/wjg.123092
Published online Jan 14, 2027. doi: 10.3748/wjg.123092
Development and validation of a prognostic prediction model for alpha-fetoprotein-negative hepatocellular carcinoma with microvascular invasion after surgery
Min-Jun Liao, Zi-Long Wang, Xiao-Xiao Wang, Xin Ai, Lin-Nan Song, Ran Fei, Xu Cong, Feng Liu, Hong-Song Chen, Hui-Ying Rao, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Infectious Disease and Hepatology Center of Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug and Device Translation in Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
Yu Zhou, Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Taikang Tongji (Wuhan) Hospital, Wuhan 430000, Hubei Province, China
Yu Zhou, Wei-Jia Liao, Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541001, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Peng-Peng Zhu, National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnosis and Biotherapy, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710000, Shaanxi Province, China
Co-first authors: Min-Jun Liao and Yu Zhou.
Co-corresponding authors: Wei-Jia Liao and Hui-Ying Rao.
Author contributions: Liao MJ and Zhou Y contributed equally to this manuscript as co-first authors; Rao HY and Liao WJ put forward and designed the study, and they contributed equally to this manuscript as co-corresponding authors; Liao MJ, Zhou Y, and Zhu PP wrote this article and participated in the collection and analysis of data; Wang ZL, Wang XX, Ai X, Song LN, Fei R, Cong X, Chen HS, and Liu F participated in the analysis of data and helped revised the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: The authors declare that generative AI was not used in the creation of this manuscript.
Supported by National Key R&D Program of China, No. 2022YFA1303804; Dongguan Social Development Technology Project, No. 20221800906062; Taikang Health Investment Youth Medical Research Initiation Fund, No. 2025030; and the Research Fund of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. YJ(YB)202518.
Institutional review board statement: The study protocol was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committees of Peking University People’s Hospital (approval No. 2024PHB061-001) and the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University (approval No. 2021WJWZC14), and written informed consents were obtained from all individual participants.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: If reasonably necessary, the datasets used and analyzed in the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Hui-Ying Rao, Professor, Peking University Hepatology Institute, Infectious Disease and Hepatology Center of Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug and Device Translation in Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Peking University People’s Hospital, No. 133 Fuchengmennei Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100044, China. rao.huiying@163.com
Received: May 18, 2026
Revised: July 16, 2026
Accepted: August 26, 2026
Published online: January 14, 2027
Processing time: 177 Days and 23.9 Hours
Revised: July 16, 2026
Accepted: August 26, 2026
Published online: January 14, 2027
Processing time: 177 Days and 23.9 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Alpha-fetoprotein-negative hepatocellular carcinoma (AFP-NHCC) combined with microvascular invasion (MVI) constitutes a distinct subgroup, biomarkers or prognostic indicators for AFP-NHCC patients with MVI are not investigated and defined yet. TGN model provides an effective tool for risk stratification in patients with AFP-NHCC and MVI, and may be used to guide postoperative management and surveillance strategies.