A case of hepatocellular carcinoma with bone metastasis responding to radiotherapy after successful hepatectomy of primary lesion.

Radical hepatectomy was carried out on a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) located in segment VIII of the liver. The patient was a 56-year-old man who showed positive for hepatitis C antibody and negative for hepatitis B surface antigen. Six months after hepatectomy, a lumbar plane X-ray and computed tomography examination revealed bone metastases in the lumbar vertebrae. The patient was subsequently treated by radiation to the lumbar vertebrae in response to lumbago. The metastatic lesion has been well controlled by radiotherapy on an outpatient basis with no recurrence for 5 years and 3 months. The prognosis of patients with HCC with distant metastases is poor. It is believed that the long survival of this patient can be attributed to successful radiotherapy of the bone metastasis after hepatectomy and the lack of recurrence in the liver.