title: Repeat hepatectomy is the most useful treatment for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: Hepatic resection has been regarded as a curative treatment for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but a high incidence of postoperative recurrence is general. Thus it is important to predict the patterns of recurrence and select the appropriate treatment for recurrence for a better long-term prognosis of patients with HCC. Clinicopathological studies on 80 patients with intrahepatic recurrence after curative hepatectomy suggested that nodular-type recurrence with up to three nodules is mainly due to metachronous multicentric hepatocarcinogenesis rather than intrahepatic metastases. We reviewed 300 patients with recurrent HCC, and repeat hepatectomy was done in 78 cases (26.0%). The 3- and 5-year survival rates after repeat hepatectomy were 82.8% and 47.5%, respectively, showing better prognosis than those for other treatments. Repeat hepatectomy is the preferred treatment offering a hope of long-term survival for patients with recurrent HCC as long as liver function is sufficient; thus early detection of recurrence should be ensured.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugimachi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maehara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugimachi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D012086:Reoperation; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome