Impact of obesity on the surgical outcome following repeat hepatic resection in Japanese patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the impact of obesity on the posto-perative outcome after hepatic resection in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).


METHODS
Data from 328 consecutive patients with primary HCC and 60 patients with recurrent HCC were studied. We compared the surgical outcomes between the non-obese group (body mass index: BMI < 25 kg/m(2)) and the obese group (BMI > or = 25 kg/m(2)).


RESULTS
Following curative hepatectomy in patients with primary HCC, the incidence of postoperative complications and the long-term prognosis in the non-obese group (n = 240) were comparable to those in the obese group (n = 88). Among patients with recurrent HCC, the incidence of postoperative complications after repeat hepatectomy was not significantly different between the non-obese group (n = 44) and the obese group (n = 16). However, patients in the obese group showed a significantly poorer long-term prognosis than those in the non-obese group (P < 0.05, five-year survival rate; 51.9% and 92.0%, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Obesity alone may not have an adverse effect on the surgical outcomes of patients with primary HCC. However, greater caution seems to be required when planning a repeat hepatectomy for obese patients with recurrent HCC.
Utsunomiya
Tohru
T
Department of Surgery, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital and Atomic Bomb Survivors Hospital, Hiroshima 730-8619, Japan. tohru@hiroshima-med.jrc.or.jp
Okamoto
Masahiro
M
Kameyama
Toshihumi
T
Matsuyama
Ayumi
A
Yamamoto
Manabu
M
Fujiwara
Megumu
M
Mori
Masaki
M
Aimitsu
Shiomi
S
Ishida
Teruyoshi
T
D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000601:surgery; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome