title: Comparison of the outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy between two regional medical centers in China and Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant disease of the liver in China and Japan. The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of HCC patients after hepatectomy between two regional medical centers in China and Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on HCC after hepatectomy were collected from January 2005 to December 2014 from Nagasaki University Hospital in Nagasaki, Japan and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University in Nanchang, China. The patient and tumor characteristics, HCC etiology, and overall survival rates after hepatectomy were investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred patients in the Nagasaki group and 238 patients in the Nanchang group were diagnosed with HCC and underwent hepatectomy. The major underlying liver diseases were hepatitis C infection (32%, 64/200) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (34.5%, 69/200) in the Nagasaki group, while in the Nanchang group, hepatitis B infection (79.4%, 189/238) was the dominant etiology. Large tumors (> 5 cm), the presence of a tumor capsule and a high alpha-fetoprotein value (≥ 400 U/L) were more frequently observed in the Nanchang group as compared with the Nagasaki group (p < 0.05). According to an outcome analysis, the Nanchang patients showed worse survival rates as compared with Nagasaki patients, particularly those with American Joint Committee on Cancer stages I and III due to the aggressive character of HCC in the Nanchang group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are significant differences in the clinicopathologic features and outcomes of HCC patients from Japan and China. These differences may impact the eligibility for potentially curative therapy and the prognosis of patients with HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1 Minde Road, Nanchang 330006, PR China; Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan. Electronic address: sueguchi@nagasaki-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hidaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1 Minde Road, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Tamotsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuroki
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1 Minde Road, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Mingwen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1 Minde Road, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Linquan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1 Minde Road, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Shubing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No.1 Minde Road, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Jianghua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shao
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006498:Hepatectomy; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: China; Japan; comparison; hepatectomy; hepatocellular carcinoma