Abstract
To clarify the clinical significance of minute hepatocellular carcinoma, data on 12 patients with tumor less than 5cm in size seen in our clinic during the past 20 years were evaluated. All of these patients were male, and average age was 61 years old. Of these patients, 6 revealed positive HBs antigen or antibody in serum and 10 positive alpha-fetoprotein. Most of them exhibited a decreased functional reserve in the liver. Ten patients (38%) underwent hepatic resection, and 2 had conservative treatment. Operative mortality rate was 27%. Survival rates of these patients, excluding operative death, were 67% at one year, 33% at 3 years respectively. After treatment, 2 patients (40%) died of the recurrence of tumor, and 3 died of liver cirrhosis. Of overall patients, 64% had a capsule around tumor, and 92% associated with liver cirrhosis.
From these findings, it is suggested that some of patients with minute hepatocellular carcinoma reveal a clinical feature of advanced tumor, and that the survival time of patients is fairly influenced by the prognosis of accompanied liver cirrhosis.
