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High risk of lung metastasis after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma more than 7 cm in diameter

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Abstract

Purpose

The relationship between the tumor size and organs of recurrence was analyzed to identify a high-risk group for the extrahepatic recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after resection.

Methods

A total of 544 patients with HCC underwent primary surgical resection for HCC between 2001 and 2010. Of these, 293 patients had a solitary tumor but no macroscopic vascular invasion. The prognostic factors for the overall survival and relapse-free survival were analyzed among these 293 patients. The recurrent organs and frequency of recurrence were also examined.

Results

The analysis of the 293 patients showed that both the overall and relapse-free survival rates of the patients with a large tumor (>7 cm in diameter) were significantly worse than those of the patients with a tumor <7 cm. The incidence of lung metastasis was remarkably high in the group of patients with tumors more than 7 cm (24.0 %), in comparison to those with tumors <7 cm. A multivariate analysis revealed that the tumor size was the only independent risk factor for lung metastasis.

Conclusions

The patients with large HCC tumors more than 7 cm in diameter were at high-risk for a poor prognosis due to a high percentage of lung metastasis, even if there was no macroscopic vascular invasion.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Takamichi Ishii, Etsuro Hatano, Kentaro Yasuchika, Kojiro Taura, Satoru Seo & Shinji Uemoto

  2. Department of Surgery, Nishi-Kobe Medical Center, 5-7-1 Koji-dai, Nishi-ku, Kobe, 651-2273, Japan

    Takamichi Ishii

Authors
  1. Takamichi Ishii
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  2. Etsuro Hatano
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  3. Kentaro Yasuchika
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  4. Kojiro Taura
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  5. Satoru Seo
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  6. Shinji Uemoto
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Correspondence to Takamichi Ishii.

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Ishii, T., Hatano, E., Yasuchika, K. et al. High risk of lung metastasis after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma more than 7 cm in diameter. Surg Today 44, 1900–1905 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-013-0792-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-013-0792-1

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