IS RESECTION OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA IN THE ERA OF LIVER TRANSPLANTATION WORTHWILE? A single center experience.

BACKGROUND

• Liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma is a potentially curative therapeutic procedure that can be performed readily after its indication, without the need of a long waiting time and lower costs when compared to liver transplantation, being a good alternative in patients with preserved/good liver function.

OBJECTIVE

• Evaluate long-term results of liver resection from a high volume single center for selected patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in a context of a long waiting list for liver transplant.

METHODS

• One hundred and one patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, with a mean age of 63.1 years, and preserved liver function were submitted to liver resection. Clinical and pathological data were evaluated as prognostic factors. Mean follow-up was 39.3 months.

RESULTS

• All patients had a single nodule and 57 (58.2%) patients were within the Milan criteria. The size of the nodule ranged from 1 to 24 cm in diameter. In 74 patients, liver resection was performed with the open approach and in 27 (26.7%) was done laparoscopically. Postoperative morbidity was 55.3% being 75.5% of the complications classified as Dindo-Clavien I and II and operative mortality was 6.9%. Five-year overall and disease free survival rates were 49.9% and 40.7%, respectively.After a log-rank univariate analysis, the levels of preoperative alpha-fetoprotein (P=0.043), CA19-9 (P=0.028), capsule invasion (P=0.03), positive margin (R1-R2) (P=0.004) and Dindo-Claviens' morbidity classification IV (P=0.001) were the only parameters that had a significant negative impact on overall survival. On the odds-ratio evaluation, the only significant factors for survival were high levels of alpha-fetoprotein (P=0.037), and absence of free margins (P=0.008).

CONCLUSION

• Resection, for selected cases, is a potentially curative treatment with acceptable morbidity and mortality and, in a context of a long waiting list for transplant, plays an important role for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.