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World J Gastroenterol. Jul 7, 2026; 32(25): 119364
Published online Jul 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.119364
Published online Jul 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.119364
Novel inflammation-based model for postoperative early recurrence prediction of hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma ≤ 5 cm
Tian-Xing Dai, Guo-Ying Wang, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510120, Guangdong Province, China
Tian-Xing Dai, Hua Li, Guo-Ying Wang, Department of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplant Program, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, Guangdong Province, China
Jing Li, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510260, Guangdong Province, China
Co-first authors: Tian-Xing Dai and Jing Li.
Author contributions: Wang GY and Dai TX conceived and designed the analysis; Dai TX and Li J collected the data, handled the visualization, provided the funding support, and wrote the original draft and they contribute equally to this study as co-first authors; Li H and Dai TX contributed data or analysis tools; Wang GY, Dai TX and Li H performed the analysis; all authors reviewed and edited the manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82303859; and the Scientific and Technological Planning Project of Guangzhou City, China, No. 2024A04J3543 and No. 2025A03J4318.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (Approval No. 02-057-01).
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Guo-Ying Wang, PhD, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, No. 151 Yanjiangxi Road, Guangzhou 510120, Guangdong Province, China. wanggy3@126.com
Received: January 26, 2026
Revised: February 23, 2026
Accepted: March 10, 2026
Published online: July 7, 2026
Processing time: 156 Days and 9.5 Hours
Revised: February 23, 2026
Accepted: March 10, 2026
Published online: July 7, 2026
Processing time: 156 Days and 9.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: In patients with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma with tumors ≤ 5 cm, early recurrence (≤ 2 years) accounted for 74.7% of all recurrences. An inflammation-related score model was developed based on four key indices (glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio, prognostic nutritional index, albumin-bilirubin index, and aminotransferase to lymphocyte ratio index), and integrated with clinicopathological factors into a novel nomogram. This model demonstrated superior prognostic accuracy and clinical utility in predicting early recurrence compared to conventional staging systems, and effectively identified high-risk patients with significantly poorer outcomes.