title: Natural course of small hepatocellular carcinoma with underlying cirrhosis. A study of 30 patients.
abstract: To anticipate the prognosis and choose therapy for patients with relatively early-stage HCCs, we elucidate the natural course of such patients. Thirty cirrhotic patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) < 3 cm in size and not receiving anti-cancer treatment were followed by sonography for periods of 6-48 mots. The growth speed varied considerably from case to case, with an average of 6.5+/-5.7 months of doubling time (DT). Growth speed of small HCC is significantly related to histological differentiation of tumors: a slow-growing HCC tends to be well-differentiated and a rapid-growing HCC moderately- or poorly-differentiated. Furthermore, there was a tendency to grow without changing from nodular type in slow-growing HCCs and to multiple nodular or massive types in intermediate- and rapid-growing HCCs. The survival rates of these untreated HCC patients showed a 1-yr survival of 90.7%, a 2-yr survival of 55.0%, and a 3-yr survival of 12.8%. Factors significantly influencing survival of these patients were serum total bilirubin level and DT. This study will provide invaluable data for diagnosing and treating for small HCCs.
authors.affiliation: The First Department of Medicine, Chiba University School of Medicine, Japan. ebara@med.m.chiba-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ebara
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hatano
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sugiura
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saisho
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate