Deficient response of IL-6 impaired liver regeneration after hepatectomy in patients with viral hepatitis.
OBJECTIVE
Liver regeneration after surgical resection is still a serious concern. The present study is designed to understand the relations between liver injury/regeneration and cytokines after hepatectomy with viral hepatitis.


METHODS
Twenty-one consecutive patients undergoing liver resection were studied, which included two patients with biliary tract cancer, three patients with hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer, and sixteen patients with primary liver tumor. They were also divided into two groups according to the existence of chronic viral hepatitis: 10 patients with viral hepatitis and 11 patients without viral hepatitis.


RESULTS
Viral hepatitis reduced pre-operative liver function (ICG-R15 and platelet count) with raised levels of sFas. Interestingly, this also reduced postoperative surge of IL-6, but not HGF, though they were equally at basal levels pre-operatively. Recovery of liver size, calculated with resected liver mass and volumetry with CT scan, was deteriorated in liver with viral hepatitis, but any difference of postoperative liver damage was observed between two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Viral infection, somehow, increased sFas level pre-operatively, but does not influence the post-operative liver injury. Deficient response of IL-6, but not HGF, may be a major cause for poor liver regeneration after hepatectomy in patients with viral hepatitis independent from liver injury.
Gotohda
Naoto
N
Department of Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital East, 6-5-1 Kashiwanoha Kashiwa, 277-8577 Chiba, Japan. ngotohda@east.ncc.go.jp
Iwagaki
Hiromi
H
Ozaki
Michitaka
M
Kinoshita
Taira
T
Konishi
Masaru
M
Nakagohri
Toshio
T
Takahashi
Shinichiro
S
Saito
Shinya
S
Yagi
Takahito
T
Tanaka
Noriaki
N
D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000601:surgery* / Q000821:virology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000601:surgery* / Q000821:virology; D008115:Liver Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine / Q000097:blood; D048069:Tumor Necrosis Factors / Q000097:blood
C066855:HGF protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine; D048069:Tumor Necrosis Factors; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor