BACKGROUND: There is intense clinical interest to determine whether a wide surgical margin is required to improve postoperative recurrence after locoregional therapy for small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). METHODS: From 1996 to 2003, 117 patients with small HCCs, and also matching the criteria for local ablation therapy (up to 3 nodules </=30 mm in size), were analyzed retrospectively to determine the prognostic factors affecting postoperative recurrence. RESULTS: The number of tumors and the surgical margin status were independent factors influencing the disease-free survival. The wide surgical margin status (>/=10 mm) provided a favorable disease-free survival in the 39 patients with negative hepatitis C virus infection (P = .0020) in the 59 patients with larger tumor size (>/=25 mm) (P = .0265) and in the 60 younger patients (</=63 y) (P = .0103). CONCLUSIONS: A surgical margin (>/=10 mm) should be secured in young patients without hepatitis C virus infection and/or a tumor size of 25 mm or larger because long-term disease-free survival could be expected after a macroscopic curative hepatectomy for small HCCs.
BACKGROUND: There is intense clinical interest to determine whether a wide surgical margin is required to improve postoperative recurrence after locoregional therapy for small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). METHODS: From 1996 to 2003, 117 patients with small HCCs, and also matching the criteria for local ablation therapy (up to 3 nodules </=30 mm in size), were analyzed retrospectively to determine the prognostic factors affecting postoperative recurrence. RESULTS: The number of tumors and the surgical margin status were independent factors influencing the disease-free survival. The wide surgical margin status (>/=10 mm) provided a favorable disease-free survival in the 39 patients with negative hepatitis C virus infection (P = .0020) in the 59 patients with larger tumor size (>/=25 mm) (P = .0265) and in the 60 younger patients (</=63 y) (P = .0103). CONCLUSIONS: A surgical margin (>/=10 mm) should be secured in young patients without hepatitis C virus infection and/or a tumor size of 25 mm or larger because long-term disease-free survival could be expected after a macroscopic curative hepatectomy for small HCCs.
Authors: Alvina Jada Fok; Wong Hoi She; Ka Wing Ma; Simon H Y Tsang; Wing Chiu Dai; Albert C Y Chan; Chung Mau Lo; Tan To Cheung Journal: Langenbecks Arch Surg Date: 2021-08-18 Impact factor: 2.895