Publication Name	World Journal of Gastrointestinal Pathophysiology
Manuscript ID	120603
Country	United States

Category	Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Manuscript Type	Case Control Study
Article Title	Liver stiffness at baseline as a marker of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis: A matched analysis
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Varun Mehta, Manjeet Kumar Goyal, Yogesh Kumar Gupta, Abhinav Gupta, Manisha Khubber, Tanisha Sehgal, Prabhav Mehta and Omesh Goyal
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Manjeet Kumar Goyal, Department of Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital, Akron, Ohio, USA, 1, Akron General Avenue, AKron, Akron, OH 44308, United States. manjeetgoyal@gmail.com
Key Words	Hepatocellular carcinoma; Liver cirrhosis; Liver fibrosis; Liver stiffness; Elastography; Liver stiffness measurement; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Cirrhosis; Risk stratification; Portal hypertension
Core Tip	Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance in cirrhosis remains imperfect, with a substantial proportion of tumors detected at advanced stages despite guideline-recommended ultrasound-based screening. In this matched case–control study, baseline liver stiffness measurement (LSM) assessed by transient elastography independently stratified HCC risk among patients with established cirrhosis. Higher LSM values were strongly associated with HCC, with excellent discriminative performance and a clinically relevant threshold identifying patients at particularly high risk. These findings support the integration of LSM into HCC risk stratification frameworks and suggest that liver stiffness–guided, individualized surveillance strategies may improve early detection in cirrhosis.
Citation	Mehta V, Goyal MK, Gupta YK, Gupta A, Khubber M, Sehgal T, Mehta P, Goyal O. Liver stiffness at baseline as a marker of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis: A matched analysis. World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol 2026; In press

Received	2026-03-03 03:17
Peer-Review Started	2026-03-03 03:19
First Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-03-26 10:18
Return for Revision	2026-03-26 10:18
Revised	2026-04-13 17:21
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-04-23 02:37
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-04-23 05:16
Articles in Press	2026-04-23 05:16
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	2150-5330 (online)
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Copyright	©Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See Permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
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