Proper hepatic pedicle clamping during hepatectomy is associated with improved postoperative long-term prognosis in patients with AJCC stage IIIB hepatocellular carcinoma

The Superiority of 68 Ga-FAPI-04 over 18F-FDG in a Case of Gallbladder Cancer

A 56-year-old man presented with vague upper abdominal pain for more than 4 months. His abdominal ultrasound and MRI showed thickening of the neck and base of the gallbladder and nodule formation at the base of the gallbladder. 18F-FDG PET/CT revealed intense FDG uptake in the base of the gallbladder and multiple lymph nodes. 68 Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT not only showed intense FAPI uptake in the above mentioned FDG-avid lesions but also showed intense FAPI uptake in the neck lesion of the gallbladder and some other additional lymph nodes. Finally, histopathological examination confirmed poorly differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma of the neck and base of the gallbladder. Our case illustrated that 68 Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT may outperform 18F-FDG PET/CT in the detection of gallbladder cancer primary and metastatic lesions.

Shorter Survival after Liver Pedicle Clamping in Patients Undergoing Liver Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Revealed by a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Simple Summary

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most prevalent tumor of the liver and represents the second most common cause of oncological-related deaths worldwide. Despite all progress made in the field, surgical resection or liver transplantation are, at the moment, the only curative therapies available. Liver resection, especially for large, central tumors, are at risk of important bleeding. Significative hemorrhage during HCC resections have been linked to an increased rate of post-operative complications and tumor recurrence. Therefore, hepatic pedicle clamping during surgery has been used in order to reduce the bleeding risks. However, this method induces ischemia/reperfusion injuries, which has also been associated with tumor recurrence. For this reason, we aimed to evaluate if pedicle clamping is indeed associated with tumor recurrence and shorter survival, by performing a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis.

Abstract

Liver pedicle clamping minimizes surgical bleeding during hepatectomy. However, by inducing ischemia-reperfusion injury to the remnant liver, pedicle clamping may be associated with tumor recurrence in the regenerating liver. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) having a high rate of recurrence, evidences demonstrating an eventual association with pedicle clamping is strongly needed. We did a systematic review of the literature until April 2020, looking at studies reporting the impact of liver pedicle clamping on long-term outcomes in patients undergoing liver resection for HCC. Primary and secondary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival, respectively. Results were obtained by random-effect meta-analysis and expressed as standardized mean difference (SMD). Eleven studies were included, accounting for 8087 patients. Results of seven studies were pooled in a meta-analysis. Findings indicated that, as compared to control patients who did not receive liver pedicle clamping, those who did had a significantly shorter OS (SMD = −0.172, 95%CI: −0.298 to −0.047, p = 0.007, I² = 76.8%) and higher tumor recurrence rates (odds ratio 1.36 1.01 to 1.83. p = 0.044, I² = 50.7%). This meta-analysis suggests that liver pedicle clamping may have a deleterious impact on long-term outcomes. An individual patient-data meta-analysis of randomized trials evaluating liver pedicle clamping is urgently needed.

Impact of Intermittent Pringle Maneuver on Long-Term Survival After Hepatectomy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Result from Two Combined Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND

Hepatectomy remains an important curative treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Intermittent Pringle maneuver (IPM) is commonly applied during hepatectomy for control of bleeding. Whether the ischemia/reperfusion injury brought by IPM adversely affects the operative outcomes is controversial. This study aims to examine whether the application of IPM during hepatectomy affects the long-term outcomes.

METHODS

Two randomized controlled trials (RCT) have been carried out previously to evaluate the short-term outcomes of IPM. The present study represented a post hoc analysis on the HCC patients from the first RCT and all patients from the second RCT, and the long-term outcomes were evaluated.

RESULTS

There were 88 patients each in the IPM group and the no-Pringle-maneuver (NPM) group. The patient demographics, type and extent of liver resection and histopathological findings were comparable between the two groups. The 1-, 3-, 5-year overall survival in the IPM and NPM groups was 92.0%, 82.0%, 72.1% and 93.2%, 68.8%, 58.1%, respectively (P = 0.030). The 1-, 3-, 5-year disease-free survival in the IPM and NPM groups was 73.6%, 56.2%, 49.7% and 71.6%, 49.4%, 40.3%, respectively (P = 0.366). On multivariable analysis, IPM was a favorable factor for overall survival (P = 0.035). Subgroup analysis showed that a clamp time of 16-30 min (P = 0.024) and cirrhotic patients with IPM (P = 0.009) had better overall survival.

CONCLUSION

IPM provided a better overall survival after hepatectomy for patients with HCC. Such survival benefit was noted in cirrhotic patients, and the beneficial duration of clamp was 16-30 min.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT00730743 and NCT01759901 ( http://www.clinicaltrials.gov ).

Efficacy of Percutaneous Thermal Ablation Combined With Transarterial Embolization for Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Hepatectomy and a Prognostic Nomogram to Predict Survival

AIM

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous thermal ablation combined with transarterial embolization for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy and establish a prognostic nomogram to predict survival.

METHODS

One hundred seventeen patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma receiving ablation from 2009 to 2014 were included in primary cohort to establish a prognostic nomogram. Between 2014 and 2016, 51 patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma treated by ablation were enrolled in the validation cohort to validate the predictive accuracy of the nomogram. All patients underwent locoregional ablation. Overall survival was the primary end point, and progression-free survival was the second end point. The performance of the nomogram was assessed through concordance index and calibration curve and compared with 5 conventional hepatocellular carcinoma staging systems.

RESULTS

The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates of primary cohort were 88.4%, 70.7%, and 64.1%, respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year progression-free survival rates of primary cohort were 44%, 14%, and 8.7%, respectively. The results of multivariate analysis showed that tumor size ( P = .0469; hazard ratio, 1.020; 95% confidence interval, 1.0004-1.040), preoperative extrahepatic disease ( P = .0675; hazard ratio, 2.604; 95% confidence interval, 0.933-7.264), and close to hepatic hilum <2 cm ( P = .0053; hazard ratio, 3.691; 95% confidence interval, 1.474-9.240) were predictive factors for overall survival. The study established a nomogram to predict survival (concordance index, 0.752; 95% confidence interval, 0.656-0.849). According to the predicted overall survival, patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma were divided into 3 risk classes ( P < .05): low-risk group (total score <55; predicted 5-year overall survival rate, 82.9%), intermediate-risk group (55 ≤ total score < 99; predicted 5-year overall survival rate, 52.8%), and high-risk group (hazard ratio, total score ≥99; predicted 5-year overall survival rate, not available).

CONCLUSION

Percutaneous thermal ablation appears to be an effective procedure for the treatment of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy. The proposed nomogram provides a mechanism to accurately predict survival and could stratify risk among patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma treated by ablation therapy.