Therapeutic Effects for Recurrence After Resection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Fifty-five patients with recurrence of surgically resected hepatocellular carcinoma were assesed for clinical outcome in reference to type of recurrence, time of recurrence and therapy. Patients with a single intrahepatic recurrence had a better survival rate two years after recurrence than those with multiple intrahepatic or extrahepatic recurrence; 87.5% with single (n=11), 40.1% with multiple (n=30) and 13.4% with extrahepatic (n=14) metastatic lesions. In 30 cases of multiple intrahepatic recurrence, death within a year after recurrence occurred in 8 of 15 patients (53.3%) with recurrence within a year after hepatectomy, wereas it occurred in only one of 15 patients (6.7%) with recurrence more than one year after hepatectomy. In regard to treatment for recurrence, survival rate two years after recurrence was 34.3% of 10 patients treated by reoperation [OP group], 64.9% of 27 patients treated by transcatheter arterial embolizatin [TAE (+) group], and 6.9% of 18 patients treated by chemotherapy alone [TAE (-) group]. The outcome in the TAE (-) group was poorer, but no significant difference was observed between the OP group and the TAE (+) group.