Child-Pugh and ALBI liver-function scores

Child-Pugh and ALBI are scores of how well the liver still works, and in hepatocellular carcinoma they decide whether a patient can tolerate treatment at all. Child-Pugh combines bilirubin, albumin, INR, ascites and encephalopathy into classes A to C, and almost every HCC trial restricts entry to class A. ALBI, built from albumin and bilirubin alone, is an objective alternative that stratifies further within Child-Pugh A. Liver function, not just tumour stage, drives prognosis in HCC, which is why these scores sit alongside BCLC staging and inform liver transplantation decisions under the Milan criteria and beyond.