Spleen-dedicated stiffness measurement performed well to rule out high-risk varices in HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma: Screening for high-risk varices in HCC

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is required to screen for high-risk varices (HRV) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially since overall survival rates have dramatically improved with new systemic therapies. To assess the Baveno VI and Baveno VII algorithms' ability to rule out HRV in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC METHODS: We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with HBV related, compensated cirrhosis and newly diagnosed HCC who underwent liver stiffness measurement, spleen stiffness measurement (SSM) using a 100-Hz shear wave frequency, and EGD. From September 2021 to August 2023, we enrolled 219 patients with HCC, with 107 (48.9%) Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) A, 28 (12.8%) BCLC B and 84 (38.3%) BCLC C, respectively. HRV prevalence was 28.8% (63/219). Baveno VI criteria safely (HRV missing rate, 3.2%) avoided 27.4% unnecessary EGDs, while the Baveno VII algorithm avoided 49.3% with HRV missing rate at 7.9% (5/63). The SSM ≤40 kPa avoided 47.5% of EGDs safely (HRV missing rate, 4.8%), significantly better than the Baveno VI criteria (p