Validation of the Texas Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk Index Predictive Model for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Asian Cohort

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a significant global health burden, with its incidence and mortality rates varying significantly across different geographic regions. This variance is largely attributed to differences in the prevalence of risk factors such as hepatitis B and C infections, and alcohol consumption, as well as genetic predispositions that are distinct between Eastern and Western populations. Moreover, the impact of racial and ethnic diversity on the disease's epidemiology further complicates the global understanding and prediction of HCC. Such disparities highlight the critical need to evaluate the applicability of predictive models across diverse populations, acknowledging that a model developed in one region may not necessarily translate with the same accuracy or effectiveness when applied to another, because of these underlying epidemiologic and genetic differences. In this study, we aimed to assess the cross-regional applicability and accuracy of an HCC prediction model (Texas hepatocellular carcinoma risk index [THCC-RI] predictive model) originally developed in Western populations, within an Eastern context.1,2