PROGNOSTIC FACTORS IN RESECTED HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMAS AND THERAPEUTIC VALUE OF TRANSCATHETER ARTERIAL EMBOLIZATION FOR RECURRENCES

The authors summarize the results of patients who had hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) over a 16-year period. Survival rates f or 52 patients with HCC classified according to the Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan were calculated according to various clinicopathologic al variables. A univariable analysis revealed that alpha-fetoprotein g reater than or equal to 2000 ng/ml, portal involvement, tumor size gre ater than or equal to 3.1 cm, and noncurative resection were associate d with unfavorable outcomes, while neither the number of tumors nor un derlying cirrhosis was associated with such outcomes. Furthermore, som e of the patients with recurrence survived long after transcatheter ar terial embolization (TAE) for recurrent tumors. Early detection as wel l as TAE for recurrent HCCs is necessary to improve long-term survival .