EFFECT OF HEAVY ALCOHOL INTAKE ON LONG-TERM RESULTS AFTER CURATIVE RESECTION OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-RELATED HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA

We studied the effect of heavy alcohol intake (ethanol intake greater than or equal to 80 g/day for greater than or equal to 5 yr) on long-t erm results in 53 patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related hepato cellular carcinoma (HCC) who had undergone curative hepatic resection. Cell proliferative activity in the tumor and non-tumorous liver was a lso assessed by counting argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region-assoc iated proteins (Ag-NOR) in the resected specimens. Twenty patients (20 males, 0 females) were positive for heavy alcohol intake [AI(+)] and 33 (28 males, 5 females) were not [AI(-)]. All patients were positive for HCV antibody and negative for hepatitis B surface antigen. Carcino ma recurred within 3 to 51 postoperative months in 42 (79.2%) of the 5 3 patients. The median disease-free survival time was 12.6 mo in the A I(+) group and 25.4 mo in the AI(-) group (P<0.01). The AI(+) group al so had significantly poorer survival than the AI(-) group (P<0.05, 3-y ear survival rate: 66.7% vs. 93.5%). HCC tumor in the AI(+) group show ed significantly increased proliferative activity compared with that i n the AI(-) group (P<0.05, Ag-NOR number: 2.3 +/- 0.8 vs. 1.9 +/- 0.4) . However, there was no significant difference between the numbers of Ag-NORs in non-tumorous liver from these two groups (1.5 +/- 0.2 vs. 1 .5 +/- 0.2). Patients with heavy alcohol intake should be followed par ticularly closely, even if they have received curative surgery, since heavy alcohol intake is closely related to a poor postoperative progno sis.