Predictors of long-term survival outcomes of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma without recurrence at five years after liver resection.

PURPOSE

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive tumor. Few studies have reported predictors of long-term survival of patients without recurrence at five years after liver resection (LR).

METHODS

We consecutively included 1133 patients with HCC undergoing LR. We excluded patients who developed recurrence or died within five years after LR (n = 639) and patients who were recurrence-free within a follow-up period of < 5 years (n = 243). The remaining 251 patients who were without recurrence at five years after LR were included in this study.

RESULTS

Sixty (23.9%) patients developed recurrence during the follow-up period, of whom, 51 (85%) showed recurrence within Milan criteria and 43 (71.7%) underwent curative treatments. Overall survival (OS) was not significantly different between patients with and those without recurrence (p = 0.63). The 10-year OS of the cohort was 78%; 10-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) was 68%. Multivariate analysis showed that MELD score per one increase (HR = 1.058; 95% CI = 1.005-1.115; p = 0.033) and age > 65 years (HR = 2.997; 95% CI = 1.543-5.820; p = 0.001) were associated with mortality, whereas no baseline variable was associated with recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Older age and higher MELD score were associated with mortality but no baseline variable was associated with recurrence in this cohort.