Metabolism-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a multifaceted disease that involves complex interactions between various organs, including the gut and heart. It is defined by hepatic lipid accumulation and is related to metabolic dysfunction, obesity, and diabetes. Understanding the intricate interplay of the gut–liver–heart crosstalk is crucial for unraveling the complexities of MAFLD and developing effective treatment and prevention strategies. The gut–liver crosstalk participates in the regulation of the metabolic and inflammatory processes through host–microbiome interactions. Gut microbiota have been associated with the development and progression of MAFLD, and its dysbiosis contributes to insulin resistance, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Metabolites derived from the gut microbiota enter the systemic circulation and influence both the liver and heart, resulting in the gut–liver–heart axis playing an important role in MAFLD. Furthermore, growing evidence suggests that insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, and systemic inflammation in MAFLD may contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Additionally, the dysregulation of lipid metabolism in MAFLD may also lead to cardiac dysfunction and heart failure. Overall, the crosstalk between the liver and heart involves a complex interplay of molecular pathways that contribute to the development of CVD in patients with MAFLD. This review emphasizes the current understanding of the gut–liver–heart crosstalk as a foundation for optimizing patient outcomes with MAFLD.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Surgery, percutaneous ablation and liver transplantation are the only curative treatment modalities for HCC. However, the majority of patients have unresectable disease at diagnosis. Therefore, effective treatment options for patients with advanced HCC are required. In advanced HCC, according to current international guidelines, sorafenib, a molecular targeted agent, is the standard treatment. However, alternative treatment modalities are required because of the low response rates and unsuitability of molecular agents in real practice. In various treatment modalities, mostly in Asia, hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) has been applied to advanced HCC with a view to increasing the therapeutic efficacy. HAIC provides direct drug delivery into the tumor feeding vessels and also minimizes systemic toxicities through a greater first-pass effect in the liver. However, the sample sizes of studies on HAIC have been small and large randomized trials are still lacking. In this article, we describe the treatment efficacy of HAIC for advanced stage HCC and discuss future therapeutic possibilities.

We evaluated the ability of various grading scales including platelet-albumin-bilirubin (PALBI) and albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grades to predict overall survival (OS) according to treatment modality in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The cohort of 6,669 patients with HCC was selected randomly from the 2008–2012 national cohort of the Korean Central Cancer Registry. The OS of 6,507 of these patients was evaluated using the Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class, Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, and ALBI and PALBI grades. The patient’s mean age was 59.7 years. The most patients were hepatitis B virus (63.4%) and CTP class A (71.8%). The median OS durations of PALBI grade1 (38.4%), grade2 (33.2%), and grade3 (28.4%) patients were 81, 30, and 5 months, respectively (P<0.001). The PALBI grade had a larger area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) than did the CTP class, MELD score, and ALBI grade (overall AUC: 0.675 vs. 0.633, 0.645, and 0.642, respectively; P < 0.001). Moreover, the PALBI and ALBI grades enabled sub-classification of CTP A patients (P < 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, the PALBI and ALBI grades were significant risk factors for OS (P < 0.05). According to treatment modality, the PALBI grade was predictive of OS in patients receiving transarterial chemoembolization or supportive care. The ALBI grade was predictive of OS in patients undergoing surgical resection or radiofrequency ablation. The PALBI and ALBI grades are more reliable for accessing liver function and predicting OS in patients with HCC. Moreover, according to treatment modality, appropriate use of the ALBI and PALBI grades will enable accurate determination of the prognosis of patients with HCC.

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a widely used standard treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who are not suitable candidates for curative treatments. The rationale for TACE is that intra-arterial chemotherapy using lipiodol and chemotherapeutic agents, followed by selective vascular embolization, results in a strong cytotoxic effect as well as ischemia (conventional TACE). Recently, drug-eluting beads (DC Beads^®) have been developed for transcatheter treatment of HCC to deliver higher doses of the chemotherapeutic agent and to prolong contact time with the tumor. DC Beads^® can actively sequester doxorubicin hydrochloride from solution and release it in a controlled sustained fashion. Treatment with DC Beads^® substantially reduced the amount of chemotherapeutic agent that reached the systemic circulation compared with conventional, lipiodol-based regimens, significantly reducing drug-related adverse events. In this article, we describe the treatment response, survival, and safety of TACE used with drug-eluting beads for the treatment of HCC and discuss future therapeutic possibilities.