Adaptation of hepatectomy for huge hepatocellular carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
We retrospectively identified prognostic factors in patients with huge hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) more than 10 cm in diameter and established a clinical strategy for such patients at our institution.


METHODS
Three-hundred and twenty patients with HCC underwent hepatectomy. Twenty-nine of them were diagnosed with HCC 10 cm or more in diameter (group L). Two hundred and ninety-one patients were diagnosed with HCC less than 10 cm (group S). The overall and disease-free survival rates in the two groups were compared, and the prognostic factors in group L were analyzed.


RESULTS
The overall 3-and 5-year survival rates in group L were 33.6% and 33.6%, and these rates in group S were 61.4% and 45.0%, respectively. The difference between the two groups was significant (P=0.0048). The disease-free survival rates in group L (3-year, 21.5%; 5-year, 21.5%) were also significantly worse than those in group S (3-year, 37.1%; 5-year, 25.4%; P=0.0022). Background liver (cirrhosis vs no cirrhosis) (P=0.0380) and TNM stage according to the Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan (stage II or III vs stage IV; P=0.0308) were significantly associated with prognosis by multivariate analyses.


CONCLUSIONS
Hepatic resection is a safe and effective treatment for huge HCC of more than 10 cm in diameter. However, we suggest that cirrhotic patients with huge HCC with the presence of both macrovascular invasion and multiple tumors may not be appropriate candidates for hepatic resection.
Taniai
Nobuhiko
N
Department of Surgery, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan.
Yoshida
Hiroshi
H
Tajiri
Takashi
T
D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis