Al-Nimer MSM. Concomitant determination of hematological indices supported the application of the albumin-bilirubin score in non-malignant liver diseases. World J Hepatol 2024; 16(9): 1308-1311 [PMID: 39351517 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i9.1308]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Marwan S M Al-Nimer, MBChB, MD, PhD, Professor Emerita, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Diyala, University Street, Baqubah 32001, Iraq. marwanalnimer@yahoo.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
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/
World J Hepatol. Sep 27, 2024; 16(9): 1308-1311 Published online Sep 27, 2024. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i9.1308
Concomitant determination of hematological indices supported the application of the albumin-bilirubin score in non-malignant liver diseases
Marwan S M Al-Nimer
Marwan S M Al-Nimer, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Diyala, Baqubah 32001, Iraq
Author contributions: Al-Nimer MSM completely wrote the letter to the editor.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author declares no conflict-of-interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Marwan S M Al-Nimer, MBChB, MD, PhD, Professor Emerita, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Diyala, University Street, Baqubah 32001, Iraq. marwanalnimer@yahoo.com
Received: March 12, 2024 Revised: August 12, 2024 Accepted: August 26, 2024 Published online: September 27, 2024 Processing time: 194 Days and 20.5 Hours
Abstract
The albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score is a useful prognostic marker that predicts mortality in patients suffering from terminal diseases. Recently, it has been reported that ALBI score is a predictor of non-malignant liver diseases. The cutoff point of the ALBI score that distinguishes hepatocellular carcinoma from non-malignant liver disease is still not identified. Therefore, the ALBI score is a sensitive rather than a specific predictor of the poor outcomes of liver diseases. There are many hematological indices and ratios that are utilized as prognostic biomarkers. Among these biomarkers are the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and platelet-hemoglobin ratio (PHR), which are useful discriminating prognostic biomarkers for liver diseases, e.g., hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatitis, liver fibrosis, etc. There is evidence that PLR and PHR are prognostic biomarkers that predict the poor outcomes of diseases. Therefore, concomitant measurements of ALBI score and PHR or ALBI score and PLR will improve the predictive value that can differentiate hepatocellular carcinoma from non-malignant diseases.
Core Tip: Albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score is a prognostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma and non-malignant liver diseases, as a higher level in the pretreatment state is associated with poor prognosis. Hematological ratios, notably the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and platelet-hemoglobin ratio (PHR) are also useful prognostic biomarkers in hepatic pathological conditions. Concurrent measurement of PLR and ALBI score, or ALBI score and PHR, supports the prediction value of the ALBI score and makes sense to establish a cutoff value for non-malignant conditions.
