title: Analysis of prognostic factors and 5-year survival rate in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a single-center experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is the third most common cancer in Korea, has a very poor prognosis. However, only a few studies have performed a comprehensive survival-related analysis in all patients who were consecutively diagnosed and treated over a given period of time. The aim of this study was to determine the 5-year survival rate and its prognostic factors among HCC patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 257 patients who were consecutively diagnosed with HCC between January 2000 and December 2003 were followed until death or until December 2008. We analyzed their survival outcomes according to their clinical characteristics, tumor staging, and treatment modalities, and determined the independent prognostic factors affecting survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients were aged 59±10 years (mean±SD). During the follow-up period, 223 patients (86.8%) died and the overall median survival was 10.8 months; the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 44.4%, 21.0%, and 12.1%, respectively. The outcomes in patients with tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage I or II and Child-Pugh class A or B were significantly better with surgical resection than with other treatment modalities (P<0.01). Patients who underwent supplementary transcatheter arterial chemoembolization as a second-line treatment after surgical resection had better outcomes than those who underwent surgical resection alone (P=0.02). Initial symptoms, Child-Pugh class, serum alpha-fetoprotein, tumor size, portal vein thrombosis, and TNM stage were found to be independent prognostic factors for survival among HCC patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This retrospective cohort study elucidated survival outcomes and prognostic factors affecting survival in HCC patients at a single center.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Seok
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyun Sung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Hyung Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Su Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyun Suk
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyung Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Hyun
authors.forename: Yong Hyun
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Byoung Woon
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Jin Hyung
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Hoon
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Bae Hwan
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Joon Hyuk
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ha Yan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Hyun Deok
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Il Han
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011169:Portal Vein; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000150:complications; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins