title: Percutaneous transhepatic portal vein stent placement can improve prognosis for hepatocellular carcinoma patients with portal vein tumor thrombosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) has an extremely poor prognosis. One reason is that portal hypertension may progress rapidly and intractable gastric/esophageal variceal hemorrhage may occur in PVTT cases. We studied whether a percutaneous transhepatic portal vein stent placement could improve the prognosis for HCC with PVTT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five cases of HCC with PVTT where portal hypertension had rapidly progressed were performed portal vein stenting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All cases had been classified into Child-Pugh class C. Only one of them died of liver failure five months after stent placement, but two of the cases successfully avoided dying of liver failure and the other two cases are still alive with a hepatic functional reserve maintained.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although portal vein stent placement for HCC with PVTT is not by itself a therapy for PVTT, portal vein stent placement plays a prominent role in improving hepatic function reserve preventing fatal hepatic failures due to PVTT and gastric/esophageal variceal hemorrhage associated with portal hypertension. This leads to prolonged survival for HCC patients with PVTT. Further prospective trials including the appropriate timing of portal vein stent placement treatment will be needed for larger numbers of HCC patients with PVTT.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Aiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nagashima
authors.forename: Kanae
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: Tadayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Togashi
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seki
authors.forename: Terasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Honma
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Tomoteru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamimura
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D057510:Endovascular Procedures / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011169:Portal Vein / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D011379:Prognosis; D015607:Stents; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*