Hepatic resection is not enough for hepatocellular carcinoma. A follow-up study of 92 patients.
We followed up 92 patients who underwent curative hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma between 1982 and 1991. The long-term survival rates for these 92 patients for 1, 3, and 5 years were 98.8, 81.6, and 57.3%, respectively. As of May 1991, the carcinoma had recurred in 52 patients (56.5%). Recurrent tumors usually occurred in the residual liver within 3 years after surgery but were not always located near the primary lesion. The biologic characteristics of the primary tumors, such as serum alpha-fetoprotein, tumor size, number of tumors, and portal involvement, were closely related to recurrence and long-term survival. However, the type of hepatectomy performed on the primary tumor had little influence on recurrence or long-term survival. We conclude that recurrence cannot be avoided by hepatic resection alone, much less with limited resection; postoperative positive adjuvant therapy is required to prevent recurrence for patients with satellite nodule and/or portal involvement.
First Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Japan.
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T
Harada
T
T
Shigemura
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S
Kodama
T
T
Higuchi
S
S
Ikeda
M
M
Okazaki
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006498:Hepatectomy; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011379:Prognosis; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins