Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods: Between January 1993 and December 2002, a total of 473 patients underwent hepatectomy for HCC at a medical center in Taiwan. Clinicopathological and surgical characteristics were studied to identify prognostic factors influencing survival.
Results: There were 379 men (80.1%) with mean +/- standard deviation age of 53.1 +/- 13.1 years. The etiology of HCC was hepatitis B (n = 277), hepatitis C (n = 90), coinfection with hepatitis B and C (n = 47), and non-B or C hepatitis (n = 50). The blood loss was 282.3 +/- 370.5 ml, and 411 patients (86.9%) did not require perioperative blood transfusion. On univariate analysis, the statistically significant independent factors for disease-free survival were alfa-fetoprotein (AFP) levels of >400 ng/ml, indocyanine green retention of >10%, Pringle maneuver, blood transfusion, tumor diameter >5 cm, bilateral tumors, microvascular invasion, adjacent tissue invasion, daughter nodules and cirrhotic liver. The univariate factors influencing overall survival were similar to those influencing disease-free survival except for AFP. Independent factors that statistically significantly affected overall survival on multivariate analysis included Pringle maneuver, blood transfusion, tumor diameter >3 cm, microvascular invasion, daughter nodules, and liver cirrhosis. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year disease-free survival were 75.3, 43.3, and 22.3%, respectively. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year overall survival were 86.7, 55, and 33.7%, respectively.
Conclusions: AFP, indocyanine green retention of >10%, blood transfusion, Pringle maneuver, tumor diameter of >3 cm, bilateral tumors, microvascular invasion, adjacent tissue invasion, daughter nodules, and liver cirrhosis influence survival.