Since the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develops in cirrhotic liver and is often multicentric, liver transplantation (LT) seems to be a rational approach for the treatment of HCC. Current selection criteria of LT for HCC are Milan criteria (single nodule < or = 5 cm , or < or = 3 nodules and Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/etiology/*mortality/*surgery ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/*complications ; Liver Neoplasms/etiology/*mortality/*surgery ; *Liver Transplantation ; Salvage Therapy ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUNDThe absolute lymphocyte counts (ALCs) have been reported as one of worse prognostic factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patient after liver transplantation. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of ALCs on the outcomes of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC within the Milan criteria following liver resection.

METHODSData of patients with HCC within the Milan criteria who received liver resection between January 2007 and June 2013 were reviewed, and perioperative ALCs were carefully monitored. All potential risk factors were statistically analyzed by uni- and multi-variate analyses. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the optimal ALCs cut-off value to predict HCC recurrence after liver resection.

RESULTSA total of 221 patients were enrolled in the current study. During the follow-up period, 106 patients experienced recurrence, and 38 patients died. Multivariate analysis suggested microvascular invasion (MVI), a tumor grade ≥2, and a low postoperative ALCs in the 1st postoperative month increased the incidence of postoperative recurrence, besides, MVI, intraoperative transfusion, and a low postoperative ALCs in the 1st postoperative month were associated with poor overall survival (OS). An ROC analysis showed that a cut-off value of 1.5 × 109/L for ALCs in the 1st postoperative month predicted postoperative recurrence. The 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) and OS rates of patients with low postoperative ALCs were 34.5% and 64.8%, respectively, which were significantly lower than those of patients with high postoperative ALC (58.5% for RFS and 86.5% for OS).

CONCLUSIONLow ALCs in the 1st postoperative month may be associated with high recurrence incidence and poor OS for patients with HBV-related HCC within the Milan criteria after liver resection.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; immunology ; mortality ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; immunology ; mortality ; surgery ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; etiology ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Metastatic pathological fractures of the spine are a major problem for cancer patients; however, there is no consensus on treatment strategy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate various treatment options by analyzing their patterns for metastatic pathological fractures of the spine. METHODS: In this study, 54 patients (male:female = 36:18) who were diagnosed with metastatic pathological fractures of spine were recruited. Demographic data, origin of cancer, type of treatment, and results were obtained from electronic medical records. Treatment options were divided into radiotherapy (RT), vertebroplasty (VP) or kyphoplasty (KP), operation (OP), and other treatments. Treatment results were defined as aggravation, no response, fair response, good response, and unknown. The survival time after detection of pathologic fractures was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 62.3 years. Hepatocellular carcinoma was the most common cancer of primary origin (n = 9), followed by multiple myeloma (n = 8). RT was the most common primary choice of treatment (n = 29, 53.7%), followed by OP (n = 13, 24.1%), and VP or KP (n = 10, 18.5%). Only 13 of 29 RT cases and 7 of 13 OP cases demonstrated a fair or good response. The mean survival time following detection of pathological spinal fractures was 11.1 months for 29 patients, who died during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: RT was the most common primary choice of treatment for metastatic pathological fractures of the spine. However, the response rate was suboptimal. Although OP should be considered for the relief of mechanical back pain or neurologic symptoms, care should be taken in determining the surgical indication. VP or KP could be considered for short-term control of localized pain, although the number of cases was too small to confirm the conclusion. It is difficult to determine the superiority of the treatment modalities, hence, a common guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of metastatic pathological fractures of the spine is required.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/mortality/pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/mortality/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Myeloma/mortality/pathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fractures/etiology/mortality/*radiotherapy/*surgery ; Spinal Neoplasms/*complications/secondary ; Spine ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUNDHepatectomy is a standard hepatic surgical technique. The safety of hepatectomy has been improved in line with improvements in surgical techniques. This study analyzed the operative and perioperative factors associated with hepatectomy.

METHODSA total of 2008 patients who underwent consecutive hepatectomies between January 1986 and December 2005 were investigated retrospectively. Diagnoses were made based on pathological findings.

RESULTSMalignant and benign liver diseases accounted for 58.5% and 41.2%, respectively, of the conditions requiring resections. Primary liver cancers accounted for 76.1% of the malignant tumors, while hilar cholangiocarcinomas accounted for 6.7%. Hemangiomas (41.7%) and hepatolithiasis (29.6%) were the most common of the benign conditions. Microwave in-line coagulation was used in 236 of our liver resection cases. The overall postoperative complication rate was 14.44%, of which 12.54% of resections were performed for primary liver cancer, 16.40% for secondary liver cancer, and 16.32% for hepatolithiasis. The overall hospital mortality was 0.55%, and that for malignant liver disease was 0.51%. A high mortality (2.53%) was associated with extensive liver resections for hilar cholangiocarcinomas (two deaths in 79 cases). Microwave in-line pre-coagulation resection, Child-Pugh grading, operating time, postoperative length of stay, and preoperative serum albumin level were independent predictors of morbidity. Blood loss, Child-Pugh grading, operating time and preoperative serum albumin level were independent predictors of mortality.

CONCLUSIONSHepatectomy can be performed safely with low morbidity and mortality, provided that it is carried out with optimal perioperative management and innovative surgical techniques.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hepatectomy ; adverse effects ; mortality ; Humans ; Liver ; physiopathology ; Liver Neoplasms ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Morbidity ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: We investigated the five-year survival outcomes of a large cohort of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who were treated at a single institute, and this is a follow-up study of a previous report. METHODS: Nine hundred four HCC patients who were treated at the National Cancer Center Korea were enrolled and they were followed till February 2007. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 56.0 years and 731 patients were male. Six hundred seventy-seven (74.9%) patients died and the overall 5-year survival rate (5-YSR) was 23.9%. The 5-YSRs of the patients with modified UICC stage I, II and III were 61.2%, 54.4% and 18.4%, respectively, and the median survival time was 4.3 and 3.7 months for the stage IVa and IVb patients, respectively. For the analysis of the treatment modality, surgical resection showed significantly better outcomes for the five-year survival as compared with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for Child-Pugh A patients with modified UICC stage I or II disease (80.1% vs 52.8%, respectively, P<.001), or stage III disease (60.7% vs 17.0%, respectively, P<.001). For patients with advanced stage IVb disease, TACE, systemic chemotherapy and radiotherapy increased the median survival period more than conservative management for the Child-Pugh class A patients. The serum alpha-fetoprotein level, portal vein tumor thrombosis, the Child-Pugh class, the tumor stage, the tumor type and symptoms were related to the prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: This study presented, for the first time, the 5-YSRs of a cohort of HCC patients.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/etiology/*mortality/surgery ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic ; Cohort Studies ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Neoplasms/etiology/*mortality/surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Radiotherapy, Conformal ; Severity of Illness Index ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo study the prevention and treatment of complications after hepatectomy.

METHODSFrom January 1998 to December 1999, 1 762 patients with pathologically proven primary liver cancer underwent hepatectomy. The types of resection included lobectomy, segmental resection and local hepatectomy.

RESULTSThe total complication rate was 4.09% and the total mortality was 0.40%. The rates of intraoperative bleeding, postoperative bleeding, hepatic failure, stockpiling fluid of the pleural cavity, residual fluid under the diaphragm, bile leakage and infection of incision were 0.96%, 0.28%, 0.51%, 1.87%, 0.17%, 0.17% and 0.11% respectively. The mortality of the former three complications were 0.06%, 0.06% and 0.28% respectively.

CONCLUSIONSThe complications can be prevented effectively and the mortality can be decreased markedly after hepatectomy by strict control of the indications, sufficient preoperative preparation, better surgical skills and close observation of postoperative state and comprehensive postoperative treatment.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; mortality ; surgery ; Female ; Hepatectomy ; adverse effects ; methods ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; mortality ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; mortality ; prevention & control

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Early recurrence (ER) after liver resection is one of the most important factors impacting the prognosis and survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to identify the factors associated with ER after curative hepatic resection for HCC. METHODS: From the July 2000 to July 2006, 144 patients underwent hepatic resection for HCC at a single institution. After excluding those with ruptured HCC, combined or mixed HCC, and who died during admission, 116 patients were analyzed. Patients with ER (defined as within 1 year) were compared with those who remained free of disease for more than 1 year. Various clinical characteristics including tumor and operative factors were evaluated to determine the factors predicting postoperative ER using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: ER occurred in 51 patients (44%). In the univariate analysis, tumor size (P=0.001), microvascular invasion (P=0.003), portal vein invasion (P=0.001), TNM stage (P=0.010), serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (P=0.002) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (P=0.011), and operative time (P=0.033) were significantly associated with ER. AFP and AST were the independent predictors of ER in the multivariate analysis (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative serum AFP and AST levels were the independent risk factors for ER after surgical resection for HCC. Close postoperative surveillance is recommended for early detection of recurrence and additional treatments in patients with these factors.
Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/etiology/mortality/*surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/etiology/mortality/*surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/*epidemiology ; Neoplasm Staging ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate ; Time Factors ; alpha-Fetoproteins/analysis