Hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance and appropriate treatment options improve survival for patients with liver cirrhosis.

OBJECTIVE/AIM: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance is a common practice for patients with liver cirrhosis. The aims of the study were to assess impacts of surveillance and therapeutic options on survival of patients with HCC.

METHODS

A total of 1436 cirrhotic patients with newly diagnosed HCC were enrolled between January 2002 and December 2004. Patients with HCC detected within periodic surveillance were the surveillance group (n=318, 22.1%). The other patients with HCC incidentally detected were the non-surveillance group (n=1118, 77.95%). Initial treatment options were recorded and overall survival was analysed.

RESULTS

Compared with patients in the non-surveillance group, larger proportions of patients in the surveillance group possessed small tumours, at an early stage without vascular invasion or metastases, and afforded more curative treatment options including surgical resection, radiofrequency ablation and percutaneous ethanol injection. The overall survival was better for patients in surveillance (3-year survival rate: 59.1% versus 29.3%, p<0.001), early stages by Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging or curative treatment options. Multivariate analysis demonstrated surveillance, hepatitis aetiology, alpha-fetoprotein, tumour gross type, tumour stage and treatment options were associated factors for patients' survival. Moreover, surveillance patients in curative BCLC stage following the treatment guideline for HCC proposed by the American association for the study of liver disease (AASLD) had a significantly better 3-year survival rate (77.1% versus 55.2%, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

HCC surveillance for cirrhotic patients could detect HCC at early and curative stages. However, appropriate treatment options following AASLD guideline further improve the survival for patients in early stage.