Subclassification of patients with intermediate-stage (Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage-B) hepatocellular carcinoma using the up-to-seven criteria and serum tumor markers

Background Intermediate-stage [Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage-B (BCLC-B)] hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) comprises of a heterogeneous population of patients with a wide range of tumor burdens. We therefore formulated a subclassification of BCLC-B HCC using the up-to-seven criteria and tumor markers according to the results of a retrospective analysis of these patients.