Liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma on cirrhosis: analysis of mortality, morbidity and survival—a European single center experience

Aims To evaluate short- and long-term results of liver resections and prognostic factors in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Study design A single-unit, retrospective study analyzing 216 patients with histologically confirmed cirrhosis who underwent hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. All clinico-pathologic and follow-up data were collected prospectively. Results Child A patients had a significantly lower in-hospital mortality rate compared to Child B–C: 4.7 vs 21.3% (p=0.0003). Overall morbidity rate was 38.4%; multiple logistic regression analysis identified liver function, hepatic pedicle clamping time, number of nodes and transfusion rate as independent predictors for post-operative complications. Overall and disease-free 5-year survival rates were 34.1 and 25.2%. Multivariate analysis showed that Child A, radical resection, tumour size ≤5 cm and, absence of vascular invasion were independent prognostic factors for long-term survival. No significant differences in overall and disease-free survival were found according to the type of resection (anatomic vs non-anatomic). Conclusions Patients with preserved liver function and small-size, single-node hepatocellular carcinomas are the best candidates for hepatic resection.