Surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Post-operative outcome and long-term results in Europe: an overview.

A multicenter retrospective review of 1467 patients treated by liver resection (LR) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Europe over a 13-year period showed a mean mortality rate of 10.6%, which was correlated with the extent of LR, the etiology of cirrhosis and the study period with an improvement during the last years. Improved 5-year overall survival (20-51%) and disease-free survival (20-33%) reached similar rates in cirrhotic than in non-cirrhotic patients. Overall results were similar to those reported in Asian series as far as patients and tumor characteristics were comparable.