Prognostic importance of bile duct invasion in surgical resection with curative intent for hepatocellular carcinoma using PSM analysis

Advanced Imaging of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Review of Current and Novel Techniques

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary carcinoma arising from the liver. Although HCC can arise de novo, the vast majority of cases develop in the setting of chronic liver disease. Hepatocarcinogenesis follows a well-studied process during which chronic inflammation and cellular damage precipitate cellular and genetic aberrations, with subsequent propagation of precancerous and cancerous lesions. Surveillance of individuals at high risk of HCC, early diagnosis, and individualized treatment are keys to reducing the mortality associated with this disease. Radiological imaging plays a critical role in the diagnosis and management of these patients. HCC is a unique cancer in that it can be diagnosed with confidence by imaging that meets all radiologic criteria, obviating the risks associated with tissue sampling. This article discusses conventional and emerging imaging techniques for the evaluation of HCC.

Effect of Biliary Drainage on the Prognosis of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Bile Duct Invasion

Background/Aims

Bile duct invasion (BDI) is rarely observed in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), leading to hyperbilirubinemia. However, the efficacy of pretreatment biliary drainage for HCC patients with BDI and obstructive jaundice is currently unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of biliary drainage on the prognosis of these patients.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled a total of 200 HCC patients with BDI from multicenter cohorts. Patients without obstructive jaundice (n=99) and those who did not undergo HCC treatment (n=37) were excluded from further analysis. Finally, 64 patients with obstructive jaundice (43 subjected to drainage and 21 not subjected to drainage) were included. Propensity score matching was then conducted.

Results

The biliary drainage group showed longer overall survival (median 10.13 months vs 4.43 months, p=0.004) and progression-free survival durations (median 7.00 months vs 1.97 months, p<0.001) than the non-drainage group. Multivariate analysis showed that biliary drainage was a significantly favorable prognostic factor for overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.42; p=0.006) and progression-free survival (hazard ratio, 0.30; p<0.001). Furthermore, in the evaluation of first response after HCC treatment, biliary drainage was beneficial (p=0.005). Remarkably, the durations of overall survival (p=0.032) and progression-free survival (p=0.004) were similar after propensity score matching.

Conclusions

Biliary drainage is an independent favorable prognostic factor for HCC patients with BDI and obstructive jaundice. Therefore, biliary drainage should be contemplated in the treatment of advanced HCC with BDI to improve survival outcomes.

Proton beam therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with bile duct invasion

AIM

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with bile duct invasion (BDI) (BDIHCC) has a poor prognosis. Moreover, due to the paucity of reports, there is no consensus regarding optimal management of this clinical condition yet. The aim of this study was to clarify the efficacy and safety of proton beam therapy (PBT) for BDIHCC.

METHODS

Between 2009 and 2018, 15 patients with BDIHCC underwent PBT at our institution. The overall survival (OS), local control (LC), and progression-free survival (PFS) curves were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Toxicities were assessed using the Common Terminology Criteria of Adverse Events version 4.0.

RESULTS

The median follow-up time was 23.4 months (range, 7.9-54.3). The median age was 71 years (range, 58-90 years). Many patients were Child A (n = 8, 53.3%) and most had solitary tumors (n = 11, 73.3%). Additionally, most patients had central type BDI (n = 11, 73%). The median tumor size was 4.0 cm (range, 1.5-8.0 cm). The 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS rates were 80.0%, 58.7% and 40.2%, respectively, and the corresponding LC and PFS rates were 93.3%, 93.3%, and 74.7% and 72.7%, 9.7%, and 0.0%, respectively. Acute grade 1/2 dermatitis (n = 7, 46.7%), and grades 2 (n = 1, 6.7%) and 3 (n = 1, 6.7%) cholangitis were observed. Late toxicities such as grade 3 gastric hemorrhage and pleural effusion were observed. No toxicities of grade 4 or higher were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

PBT was feasible with tolerable toxicities for the treatment of BDIHCC.

Prognostic Comparison Between Liver Resection and Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients With Bile Duct Tumor Thrombus: A Propensity-Score Matching Analysis

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) is rare. The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term prognosis of liver resection (LR) versus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in these patients.

Methods

Data from HCC patients with BDTT who underwent liver resection and TACE were analyzed respectively. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed in these patients.

Results

A total of 145 HCC patients with BDTT were divided into two groups: the LR group (n = 105) and the TACE group (n = 40). The median OS in the LR group was 8.0 months longer than that in the TACE group before PSM (21.0 vs. 13.0 months, P <0.001) and 9.0 months longer after PSM (20.0 vs. 11.0 months, P <0.001). The median DFS in the LR group was 3.5 months longer than that in the TACE group before PSM (7.0 vs. 3.5 months, P = 0.007) and 5 months longer after PSM (7.0 vs. 2.0 months, P = 0.007).

Conclusion

If surgery is technically feasible, liver resection provides better prognosis for HCC patients with BDTT compared with TACE.

Proton Beam Therapy in Managing Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Bile Duct Invasion

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with bile duct invasion is a rare and notorious subtype of HCC. This study included patients that had unresectable HCC with bile duct invasion and proton beam therapy between November 2015 and February 2021. Twenty patients fit the inclusion criteria. The median tumor size was 6.3 cm. Nine patients (45.0%) had major vascular invasions. All included patients received the radiation dose of 72.6 gray relative biological effectiveness due to the proximity of porta hepatis and tumor. The median follow-up time was 19.9 months. The median overall survival was 19.9 months among deceased patients. The 1-year cumulative local recurrence rates were 5.3%, with only two patients developing in-field failure. The 1-year and 2-year overall survival rates were 79.4% and 53.3%. The 1-year progression-free survival was 58.9%. Four patients developed radiation-induced liver disease. The 1-year cholangitis-free survival was 55.0%. Skin toxicity was the most common acute toxicity and rarely severe. Eight patients developed ≤ grade 3 gastrointestinal ulcers. Proton beam therapy offers desirable survival outcomes for unresectable HCC patients with bile duct invasion. Optimal local tumor control could also be obtained within acceptable toxicities.

The effect of bile duct tumor thrombus on the long-term prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients after liver resection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

The effect of bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) on the postoperative long-term prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients is still under debate.

Methods

The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science databases were systematically searched to collect the clinicopathologic characteristics, perioperative indices, and postoperative survival outcomes in the BDTT and non-BDTT groups of HCC patients from inception to February 1, 2020. The study outcomes were extracted by two independent investigators.

Results

A total of 15 studies involving 6,484 patients were included. The meta-analysis revealed that the levels of serum total bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase were notably higher in patients with HCC and BDTT than those without BDTT. Meanwhile, HCC patients with BDTT had more aggressive biological characteristics, such as poor tumor differentiation, macrovascular invasion, and lymph node metastasis, as compared to patients without BDTT. The 1-year [odds ratio (OR) 0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31–0.48, P<0.01], 3-year (OR 0.33, 95% CI: 0.22–0.51, P<0.01) and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates (OR 0.31, 95% CI: 0.20–0.49, P<0.01) of the BDTT group were significantly worse than those of the non-BDTT group. The hazard ratio of HCC with BDTT was 4.27 (95% CI: 3.47–5.26, P<0.01) within 5 years after hepatectomy.

Conclusions

HCC patients with BDTT had worse OS compared to patients free of BDTT after surgery. BDTT may be a potential prognostic factor for HCC patients.

Hepatocellular carcinoma with tumor thrombus in bile duct: A proposal of new classification according to resectability of primary lesion

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with tumor thrombus in the bile duct (BDTT) is easily misdiagnosed or mistreated due to the clinicopathological diversity of the thrombus and its relationship with primary lesions.

AIM

To propose a new classification for HCC with BDTT in order to guide its diagnosis and treatment.

METHODS

A retrospective review of the diagnosis and treatment experience regarding seven typical HCC patients with BDTT between January 2010 and December 2019 was conducted.

RESULTS

BDTT was preoperatively confirmed by computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging in only four patients. Three patients with recurrent HCC and one patient with first-occurring HCC had no visible intrahepatic tumors; of these, misdiagnosis occurred in two patients, and three patients died. One patient was mistreated as having common bile duct stones, and another patient with a history of multiple recurrent HCC was misdiagnosed until obvious biliary dilation could be detected. Only one patient who received hepatectomy accompanied by BDTT extraction exhibited disease-free survival during the follow-up period. A new classification was proposed for HCC with BDTT as follows: HCC with microscopic BDTT (Type I); resectable primary or recurrent HCC mass in the liver with BDTT (Type II); BDTT without an obvious HCC mass in the liver (Type III) and BDTT accompanied with unresectable intra- or extrahepatic HCC lesions (Type IV).

CONCLUSION

We herein propose a new classification system for HCC with BDTT to reflect its pathological characteristics and emphasize the significance of primary tumor resectability in its treatment.

Postoperative Adjuvant Transarterial Chemoembolization Improves Short-Term Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Bile Duct Tumor Thrombus: A Propensity-Score Matching Study

Purpose

To evaluate the effect of postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (PA-TACE) on the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with macroscopic bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT).

Patients and Methods

This study included 109 patients who underwent R0 resection for HCC with BDTT between January 2008 and December 2017: non-TACE (48) and PA-TACE (61). Propensity-score matching (PSM) was conducted in a 1:1 ratio. Recurrence and overall survival (OS) rates were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method. Independent risk factors were identified by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Subgroup analysis was performed by risk-factor stratification.

Results

The recurrence rates in the non-TACE and PA-TACE groups were different at 6 months (50.9% vs 26.9%, P=0.03) before PSM and at 6 months (59.3% vs 26.5%, P=0.02) and 12 months (81.4% vs 37.5%, P=0.022) after PSM. OS rates of the non-TACE and PA-TACE groups were different at 6 months (74.0% vs 91.6%, P<0.001) and 12 months (61.1% vs 77.6%, P=0.01) before PSM and at 6 months (73.0% vs 96.8%, P=0.01), 12 months (52.1% vs 89.6%, P=0.001), and 18 months (33.8% vs 64.4%, P=0.034) after PSM. PA-TACE was an independent prognostic factor for both recurrence and OS before and after PSM. Subgroup analysis showed that patients with no HBV infection, tumors >5 cm, macrovascular invasion, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) >400 ng/mL, or gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) >150 U/L benefited significantly from PA-TACE in terms of recurrence rates (all P<0.05). Patients with no HBV infection, multiple tumors, tumors >5 cm, macrovascular invasion, or AFP >400 ng/mL benefited significantly from PA-TACE in terms of OS (all P<0.05).

Conclusion

PA-TACE could prolong the short-term prognosis of HCC with macroscopic BDTT and should be recommended for patients with no HBV infection, multiple tumors, tumors >5 cm, poor differentiation, macrovascular invasion, AFP >400 ng/mL, or GGT >150 U/L.

Outcomes of resection for hepatocellular carcinoma with macroscopic bile duct tumour thrombus: A propensity score matched study

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with bile duct tumour thrombus (BDTT) is low, and related studies, especially studies on long-term survival, are uncommon. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics, prognostic factors and postoperative long-term outcomes of BDTT in patients with HCC. The clinicopathological characteristics and postoperative long-term outcomes of patients with HCC both with and without BDTT were compared before and after propensity score matching (PSM). Prognostic risk factors were assessed by Cox proportional hazards regression analyses after PSM. Tumour stages in the BDTT group were significantly higher than those in the group without BDTT (P=0.001). Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were significantly higher in the group without BDTT than in the BDTT group before PSM (P<0.001 and P=0.003, respectively). However, no significant difference in OS or RFS was found between the two groups after PSM (P=0.249 and P=0.121, respectively). Moreover, the median OS and RFS times of the BDTT patients who underwent tumour thrombectomy and bile duct resection were not significantly different (P=0.891 and P=0.787, respectively). In the multivariate analysis, macrovascular invasion (HR, 3.701; 95% CI, 1.313-9.10.437; P=0.013) was the only independent predictor of OS. Although the clinicopathological characteristics of the BDTT group suggested more advanced stage disease and poorer oncological outcomes than the group without BDTT, BDTT was not a poor prognostic factor for patients with HCC who underwent liver resection. Curative resection is recommended for patients with HCC and BDTT, even for those with poor liver function, after proper perioperative management in order to achieve good long-term survival.