title: Hepatic resection can provide long-term survival of patients with non-early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma: extending the indication for resection?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Indications for resection of non-early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain controversial. This study aimed to identify factors that affect outcome of patients with Barcelona Clinical Liver Cancer Classification (BCLC) stage B or stage C HCC after hepatic resection.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 1991 to 2006, 478 patients with HCC (BCLC stage B, n = 318 and BCLC stage C, n = 160) who underwent resection were enrolled. Factors in terms of overall survival and recurrence were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After a median follow-up of 29.5 months, 304 patients had died. The cumulative overall survival rate at 5 years was 46.5% in BCLC stage B patients and 29.1% in stage C patients (P < .001). Multivariate analysis disclosed that serum albumin levels ≤4 g/dL, indocyanine green retention rate at 15 minutes >10%, serum creatinine >1.2 mg/dL, multinodularity, Edmondson stage III or IV in tumor cell differentiation, and the presence of macroscopic vascular invasion were independent risk factors of poor overall survival. There were 331 patients with tumor recurrence after resection. Recurrence rate was less in BCLC stage B than that in BCLC stage C (P = .001). Multivariate analysis showed that serum albumin level ≤4 g/dL, multinodularity, cut margin ≤1 cm, and Edmondson stage III or IV were associated with the recurrence of HCC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hepatic resection can provide long-term survival benefit in selected BCLC stage B or C patients with compensated liver function, especially in those presenting with a single neoplasm without vascular invasion.
authors: Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors: Wen-Tsan
authors: WT
authors: Chang
authors: Wei-Yu
authors: WY
authors: Kao
authors: Gar-Yang
authors: GY
authors: Chau
authors: Chien-Wei
authors: CW
authors: Su
authors: Hao-Jan
authors: HJ
authors: Lei
authors: Jaw-Ching
authors: JC
authors: Wu
authors: Cheng-Yuan
authors: CY
authors: Hsia
authors: Wing-Yiu
authors: WY
authors: Lui
authors: Kuang-Liang
authors: KL
authors: King
authors: Shou-Dong
authors: SD
authors: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology