[A survival analysis of patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma fulfilling Milan criteria and undergoing hepatectomy].

OBJECTIVE

To summarize the experience of hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma fulfilling the Milan criteria and analyze the clinicopathological factors for patient survival and tumor recurrence.

METHODS

The clinicopathological data of 104 patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma fulfilling the Milan criteria and underwent hepatectomy at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between April 2003 and June 2009 were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

The median follow-up was 24 months. There were 54 recurrent cases. The 1-, 3- and 5-year cumulative disease-free survival rate were 63.0%, 32.6% and 22.4% respectively. Neither univariate analysis nor multivariate analysis indicated any factor significantly correlated with recurrence (P>0.05). The cumulative overall survival rate at 1, 3 and 5 years were 88.8%, 68.1% and 68.1% respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that blood transfusion (P=0.000), involvement of hepatic capsule (P=0.000) and postoperative transarterial chemotherapy (P=0.049) were significantly correlated with survival. And multivariate analysis indicated that blood transfusion (P=0.001) and involvement of hepatic capsule (P=0.000) were independent prognostic factors for survival.

CONCLUSION

For the patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma and compensated liver function fulfilling the Milan criteria, hepatectomy serves as the preferred treatment strategy.