Prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with extrahepatic metastases.
OBJECTIVE
There is no effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with extrahepatic metastases. This study investigated the survival and causes of death in HCC patients with extrahepatic metastases.


METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed 34 HCC patients with extrahepatic metastases who received systemic chemotherapy without other anticancer treatment except prior hepatectomy. We classified causes of death as cancer death and death from other causes, and subclassified cancer deaths into hepatic cause, extrahepatic cause and cachectic cause. Each cause of death was analyzed in the two subgroups comprised of 10 patients with bone metastases alone and 22 patients with metastatic lesions in sites other than bone.


RESULTS
Thirty-two of the 34 patients had died at the time of analysis. The median survival time and the 1-year survival rate were 4.6 mo and 20.3%, respectively. Incidence of hepatic cause, extrahepatic cause, cachectic cause and death from other causes were 21 (66%), 7 (22%), 2 (6%) and 2 (6%), respectively. In the subgroup of 10 patients with bone metastases alone, nine (90%) died from hepatic causes, but none died from extrahepatic causes. In the group of 22 patients with metastatic lesions in sites other than bone, 7 (32%) patients died from extrahepatic causes.


CONCLUSIONS
The causes of death in HCC patients with extrahepatic metastases depended on metastatic site at the time of diagnosis. The results of this study may be useful in the design and analysis of future clinical trials of the HCC therapy.
Okusaka
T
T
Department of Internal Medicine, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Okada
S
S
Ishii
H
H
Nose
H
H
Nagahama
H
H
Nakasuka
H
H
Ikeda
K
K
Yoshimori
M
M
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality* / Q000556:secondary; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents