Jiménez-Cuevas EA, Montoya-López M, Martínez-Díaz FM, Ramírez-Mejía MM, Méndez-Sánchez N. Albumin-bilirubin score: Monitoring hepatic function in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. World J Hepatol 2026; 18(7): 114187 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.114187]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Nahum Méndez-Sánchez, PhD, FAASLD, Researcher, Liver Research Unit, Medica Sur Clinic and Foundation, Puente de Piedra 150, Col Toriello Guerra, Mexico City 14050, Mexico. nmendez@medicasur.org.mx
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
Share the Article
Jiménez-Cuevas EA, Montoya-López M, Martínez-Díaz FM, Ramírez-Mejía MM, Méndez-Sánchez N. Albumin-bilirubin score: Monitoring hepatic function in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. World J Hepatol 2026; 18(7): 114187 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.114187]
World J Hepatol. Jul 27, 2026; 18(7): 114187 Published online Jul 27, 2026. doi: 10.4254/wjh.114187
Albumin-bilirubin score: Monitoring hepatic function in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection
Elsie A Jiménez-Cuevas, Mariana Montoya-López, Fernanda M Martínez-Díaz, Mariana M Ramírez-Mejía, Nahum Méndez-Sánchez
Elsie A Jiménez-Cuevas, Mariana Montoya-López, Fernanda M Martínez-Díaz, Mariana M Ramírez-Mejía, Nahum Méndez-Sánchez, Liver Research Unit, Medica Sur Clinic and Foundation, Mexico City 14050, Mexico
Mariana M Ramírez-Mejía, Plan of Combined Studies in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City 04360, Mexico
Nahum Méndez-Sánchez, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City 04360, Mexico
Author contributions: Jiménez-Cuevas EA, Montoya-López M, Martínez-Díaz FM, and Ramírez-Mejía MM contributed to the discussion and design of the manuscript; Méndez-Sánchez N designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript; Jiménez-Cuevas EA, Montoya-López M, Martínez-Díaz FM, Ramírez-Mejía MM, and Méndez-Sánchez N contributed to the writing and editing of the manuscript, the illustrations, and the literature review; all authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
AI contribution statement: ChatGPT was used solely for language refinement to improve clarity and readability of the text.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflicts of interest in publishing the manuscript.
Corresponding author: Nahum Méndez-Sánchez, PhD, FAASLD, Researcher, Liver Research Unit, Medica Sur Clinic and Foundation, Puente de Piedra 150, Col Toriello Guerra, Mexico City 14050, Mexico. nmendez@medicasur.org.mx
Received: September 15, 2025 Revised: December 10, 2025 Accepted: January 23, 2026 Published online: July 27, 2026 Processing time: 314 Days and 15.3 Hours
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global public health concern that affects millions of people, decreasing patient quality of life and increasing health care costs. The current gold standard for assessing liver fibrosis is liver biopsy, an invasive method that can lead to various complications. However, new approaches have been introduced over the years, making diagnosis less invasive and more affordable. The albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score, which was initially developed for hepatocellular carcinoma, has been shown to be correlated with survival, tumor relapse, and post-hepatectomy liver failure. We read with great interest the article by Ewid et al that was recently published in World Journal of Hepatology in which they reported a positive correlation between the ALBI score and inflammatory markers in patients with HCV infection after direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment. The ALBI score improved in patients with HCV and was useful for monitoring hepatic function during and after DAA therapy. They reported that the baseline ALBI scores were more favorable in the nonadvanced fibrosis group. Following DAA treatment, the improvement was more evident in the advanced fibrosis group. This score was significantly positively correlated with all noninvasive tests for liver fibrosis before and after DAA therapy. This editorial aimed to critically evaluate the role of the ALBI score as a biomarker in the management of chronic HCV infection, emphasizing its potential value for refining functional assessment, increasing risk stratification, and supporting long-term monitoring in patients treated with DAAs.
Core Tip: Chronic hepatitis C virus infection remains a significant global health challenge despite major advances in direct-acting antivirals. The albumin-bilirubin score, initially developed for hepatocellular carcinoma, has emerged as a simple, objective, and cost-effective biomarker for assessing liver function in these patients. Current evidence suggests that the albumin-bilirubin score improves following antiviral therapy, correlates well with established noninvasive tests, and captures both fibrosis and inflammatory activity. However, its full clinical utility is still being defined, and larger, more diverse studies are needed to validate its predictive value and clarify its role in precision hepatology.
