Stem Cell Growth Factor-β as a Predictive Biomarker of Response to Chemotherapy and Prognosis in Patients with Advanced-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Retrospective Study.

In this retrospective study, we investigated the potential application of serum stem cell growth factor beta (SCGF-β) as a biomarker for predicting the therapeutic response and prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing atezolizumab and bevacizumab (Atz/Bev) combination therapy. Pre- and post-treatment serum SCGF-β levels were measured and analyzed in relation to treatment outcomes and overall survival (OS). Pretreatment SCGF-β levels were associated with treatment response. Patients with SCGF-β levels exceeding the 163,295 pg/mL cutoff experienced significantly reduced OS, with a median OS of 12.03 months, compared to 28.87 months in those with SCGF-β levels at or below this threshold. These findings suggest that SCGF-β can serve as a predictive marker for clinical outcomes in HCC treatment, highlighting the need for prospective studies to further validate these results and clarify the mechanisms underlying SCGF-β-related therapeutic resistance.