Choice of Treatments for Small Hepatocellular Carcinoma -A Study on Recurrence of Resected Cases-

Minoru Tanada, Nobuji Yokoyama, Shigemitsu Takashima

Department of Surgery, National Shikoku Cancer Center Hospital

To choose an adequate and safe surgical treatment for small hepatocellular carcinomas (less than 3 cm in diameter), 60 patients who underwent curative surgery were examined clinicopathologically. Thirty-eight of them had recurrent liver tumors after hepatecotmy, while no tumors were observed in the other 22. Among the 38 patients diagnosed as having a recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 22 had a solitary tumor and 16 had multiple tumors. The overall five-year survival and disease-free survival rates were 60% and 22%, respectively. There is a statistically significant difference in tumor size, histological type, involvement of the portal vein, and intrahepatic metastasis between solitary and multiple tumors. In addition, among the patients who have these clinicopathological factors, a significant difference was observed in overall survival rate between a negative tumor margin and a positive tumor margin, however, no significant prognostic improvement was found between sub- or segmental hepatic resection. In conclusion, a negative tumor margin may be the most important prognostic factors for the resectable small HCC.

Key words
small hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatic resection, recurrence of small hepatocellular carcinoma

Reprint requests
Minoru Tanada Department of Surgery, National Shikoku Cancer Center Hospital
13 Horinouchi, Matsuyama, 790 JAPAN

Accepted
March 6, 1996

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