Factors linked to longterm survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma accompanied by tumour thrombus in the major portal vein after surgical resection.

OBJECTIVES: The prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accompanied by main portal vein tumour thrombus (MPVTT) is poor. The aim of this study was to clarify the factors linked to survival of >5 years after hepatectomy in HCC patients with MPVTT.

METHODS: Twenty-nine HCC patients with MPVTT were divided into two groups comprising, respectively, patients who survived >5 years after hepatectomy (survivors, n= 5) and those who did not (non-survivors, n= 24). The two groups were compared.

RESULTS: Overall survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were 62.1%, 24.1% and 17.2%, respectively. Four (80.0%) 5-year survivors had recurrences of HCC in which the number of recurrent nodules was under four. Three (21.4%) of the 14 non-survivors who underwent curative resection experienced recurrences of HCC and all of them demonstrated fewer than four recurrent nodules (P= 0.0114). Local therapy, such as radiofrequency ablation and resection of recurrence, had more often been used in survivors than in non-survivors (P= 0.0364).

CONCLUSIONS: Although surgical outcomes in patients with HCC accompanied by MPVTT are unsatisfactory, some patients do enjoy longterm survival. When the number of recurrent nodules is less than four, local therapy should be selected with the aim of achieving 5-year survival.