Protrusion of hepatocellular carcinoma is a predictor of early recurrence in hepatectomy patients after spontaneous rupture

Liver resection in selective hepatocellular carcinoma with Vp3 or Vp4 portal vein tumor thrombosis improves prognosis

BACKGROUND/AIM

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor thrombi located in the first branch of the portal vein (Vp3) or in the main portal trunk (Vp4) are associated with poor prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and risk factors for HCC recurrence and mortality following liver resection (LR) in patients with Vp3 or Vp4 HCC.

METHODS

The study included 64 patients who underwent LR for HCC with Vp3 or Vp4 portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT).

RESULTS

Fifty-eight patients (90.6%) had Vp3 PVTT, whereas the remaining six patients exhibited Vp4 PVTT. The median tumor size measured 8 cm, with approximately 36% of patients presented with multiple tumors. Fifty-four patients (84.4%) underwent open LR, whereas 10 patients underwent laparoscopic LR. In the Vp4 cases, combined LR and tumor thrombectomy were performed. The 3-year cumulative disease-free survival rate was 42.8% for the Vp3 group and 22.2% for the Vp4 group. The overall survival (OS) rate at 3 years was 47.9% for the Vp3 group and 60.0% for the Vp4 group. Intrahepatic metastasis has been identified as an important contributor to HCC recurrence. High hemoglobin levels are associated with high mortality.

CONCLUSION

LR is a safe and effective treatment modality for selected patients with Vp3 or Vp4 HCC PVTT. This suggests that LR is a viable option for these patients, with favorable outcomes in terms of OS.

Physics-based tissue simulator to model multicellular systems: A study of liver regeneration and hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence

We present a multiagent-based model that captures the interactions between different types of cells with their microenvironment, and enables the analysis of the emergent global behavior during tissue regeneration and tumor development. Using this model, we are able to reproduce the temporal dynamics of regular healthy cells and cancer cells, as well as the evolution of their three-dimensional spatial distributions. By tuning the system with the characteristics of the individual patients, our model reproduces a variety of spatial patterns of tissue regeneration and tumor growth, resembling those found in clinical imaging or biopsies. In order to calibrate and validate our model we study the process of liver regeneration after surgical hepatectomy in different degrees. In the clinical context, our model is able to predict the recurrence of a hepatocellular carcinoma after a 70% partial hepatectomy. The outcomes of our simulations are in agreement with experimental and clinical observations. By fitting the model parameters to specific patient factors, it might well become a useful platform for hypotheses testing in treatments protocols.

The ratio of serum des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin to tumor volume as a new biomarker for early recurrence of resected hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Early recurrence (ER) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (within 1 year after resection) is known to be a poor prognostic factor. The aim was to identify the risk factors associated with ER after HCC resection.

METHODS

Data were analyzed retrospectively from patients who underwent primary resection for HCC from two hospitals. For cross-validation, HCC resection cases were divided into the training and testing cohort. The clinicopathological factors between the ER and non-ER groups and factors for predicting ER and prognosis after HCC resection were compared.

RESULTS

Out of 173 patients in the training dataset, 33 patients had ER and the ER group showed larger tumor size, more intrahepatic metastasis (IM), and a higher ratio of serum des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) to tumor volume (TV) (DCP/TV) than the non-ER group. Out of 203 patients in the testing dataset, 30 patients had ER and the ER group demonstrated larger tumor size, more IM, and higher serum alpha-fetoprotein, AFP/TV, DCP/TV, AFP/tumor maximum diameter (TMD), and DCP/TMD than the non-ER group. The patients were divided into high and low DCP/TV groups and high serum DCP/TV was associated with unfavorable overall survival in the training and testing dataset. Multivariate analysis confirmed that high serum DCP/TV and IM were independently associated with ER.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative high serum DCP/TV may be useful for stratifying patients at risk of early HCC recurrence after curative resection.

Outcomes of Living Donor Liver Transplantation in Patients With a History of Ruptured Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is considered a contraindication in patients with a history of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) rupture because ruptured HCCs are classified as T4 in the current American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM system. This study aimed to assess living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in these patients and elucidate the factors that may have affected their outcomes.

Methods: Data of patients with a history of ruptured HCC who underwent LDLT between January 1999 and December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: Among 789 patients who underwent LDLT for HCC, five (0.64%) had a history of HCC rupture. Three patients (60%) were treated with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or transarterial embolization (TAE) for hemostasis, and two patients (40%) achieved spontaneous hemostasis. One of two patients who achieved spontaneous hemostasis underwent surgical resection and LT at 1 week and 6 years after the rupture, respectively. The other patient underwent LT 2 days after the rupture. Four patients (80%) survived for >5 years, while two patients (40%) experienced recurrence and succumbed during the median follow-up duration of 85.3 months (range, 12.4–182.7). The recurrence first developed at 4.3 and 17.0 months after LT; these patients were managed well using surgical resection for peritoneal seeding and TACE for intrahepatic HCC.

Conclusion: LDLT can be considered a treatment method even in patients with a history of HCC rupture after full evaluation of tumor biology and risk of recurrence.

Predicting Hepatocellular Carcinoma Recurrence Beyond Milan Criteria After Liver Resection for Solitary Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Several hepatectomy patients with HCC who are initially transplantable (within MC) developed untransplantable HCC recurrence (beyond MC) after primary curative liver resection. The purpose of our study is to identify the risk factors of untransplantable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after primary curative resection of solitary HCC and solitary HCC within Milan criteria (MC).

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 592 patients with recurrent HCC who underwent liver resection due to solitary HCC between 2005 and 2011.

RESULTS

All patients were Child-Pugh class A. At primary curative hepatectomy, 411 patients (69.4%) were diagnosed with HCC within MC and 181 patients (30.6%) had HCC beyond MC. The mean time from primary hepatectomy to recurrence was 14 months (range, 1-116 months). At HCC recurrence, 93 patients (15.7%) were diagnosed beyond MC. Multivariate analysis showed that microvascular invasion and a tumor grade of 3 or 4 were closely associated with a high risk of HCC recurrence beyond MC in patients who had hepatectomy for solitary HCC. Of the 411 patients within MC at primary curative hepatectomy, 54 patients (13.9%) developed HCC recurrence beyond MC. Multivariate analysis also showed that microvascular invasion and a tumor grade of 3 or 4 were closely associated with HCC recurrence beyond MC in these patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study suggests that the presence of certain unfavorable histological factors in patients who underwent initial liver resection of transplantable HCC within MC with good liver function predicted the development of recurrent HCC beyond MC.

Retrospective analysis of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization treatment for spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma

Spontaneous rupture is one of the complications of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with a high mortality rate. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) has been widely used in patients with ruptured liver tumors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the benefits and safety of conventional TACE and the disease prognosis following TACE and surgery with regard to the progression of spontaneously ruptured HCC. The clinical data of 70 patients diagnosed with spontaneous rupture of HCC were retrospectively reviewed. The majority of adverse reactions that occurred following treatment were Grade 2 or below. Grade 3/4 events occurred in 20 patients (14.3%), which included gastrointestinal hemorrhage, cardiac failure, pulmonary embolism, shock and recurrent tumor rupture. All of these patients recovered and were discharged following symptomatic and supportive treatment, with the exception of two cases of severe hemorrhagic shock and hepatic failure prior to TACE treatment. These patients did not survive during the period of hospitalization. Multivariate analysis identified that a maximum tumor size >10 cm and a high serum total bilirubin level >30 µmol/l were independent factors for determining overall patient survival rate. Additionally, the overall survival rates at 1, 6 and 12 months were 92.3, 53.8 and 46.2% in the TACE group and 100, 87.1 and 54.8% in the surgery group, respectively. The overall survival rates at 1 and 6 months following TACE were lower than those of the surgery group (P<0.05). However, the overall survival rates at 12 months were similar (P>0.05). Patients in the TACE group had a shorter hospital admission compared with those in the resection group (median 7 vs. 13 days; P<0.01). Therefore, the data demonstrated that conventional TACE therapy was safe and effective for the treatment of spontaneously ruptured HCC. In addition, this type of therapy conferred a similar long-term survival rate with that of open surgery.

Characteristics of Early Recurrence After Curative Liver Resection for Solitary Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Early recurrence after liver resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a great effect on the survival of patients. The aims of this study were to identify risk factors for early recurrence and to clarify whether early recurrence is related to patient survival rate.

METHODS

We identified a total of 1010 patients with HCC recurrence after hepatic resection between 2009 and 2014 in Samsung Medical Center and Seoul National University Hospital. Inclusion criteria were preoperative solitary tumor Child-Pugh class A and curative hepatectomy. Early recurrence was defined as HCC recurrence < 1 year after surgery.

RESULTS

A total of 628 patients were included in this study: 302 with early recurrence and 326 with late recurrence. Multivariate analysis showed that HCC grade 3 or 4, tumor size > 3 cm, and microvascular invasion were closely associated with early recurrence after liver resection for solitary HCC. When HCC recurred, the early recurrence group had large tumor size, increased tumor numbers and AFP levels, and high incidence of diffuse intrahepatic recurrence compared with the late recurrence group. The overall survival curve for the early recurrence group was lower than that for the late recurrence group (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated early recurrence was closely associated with patient survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with early recurrence had different characteristics compared to patients with late recurrence after hepatic resection in solitary HCC. Early detection of recurrence is necessary through active postoperative surveillance in hepatectomy patients with poor prognostic factors.