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Clinicopathologic Features and Outcomes of Non-B, Non-C Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Hepatectomy

  • Hepatobiliary Tumors
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Abstract

Purpose

This retrospective study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes after hepatectomy in patients with non-B, non-C (NBNC) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who were negative for hepatitis B virus surface antigen and anti–hepatitis C virus antibody.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 666 patients with HCC who underwent hepatectomy. The patients were divided into NBNC-HCC patients [n = 117 (17.6 %)] and hepatitis virus (HV)-HCC patients [n = 547 (82.4 %)]. We compared the clinicopathologic characteristics and long-term outcomes between the 2 groups. Two patients with incomplete virus-marker data were not analyzed.

Results

NBNC-HCC patients had better liver function but more advanced and larger HCCs and a high incidence of intrahepatic metastasis compared to HV-HCC patients. Recurrence-free and overall survival were similar in both groups. Multivariate analysis showed that aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and α-fetoprotein were independently associated with disease-free and overall survival in NBNC-HCC patients after hepatectomy. High AST was significantly associated with tumor size and rate of capsule formation with cancer cell infiltration in NBNC-HCC patients, but not with other liver function tests, fibrosis, or necrosis of noncancerous lesions.

Conclusions

NBNC-HCC patients have better liver function than HV-HCC patients, despite having more advanced HCC at diagnosis. There were no differences in long-term outcomes after hepatectomy between NBNC-HCC and HV-HCC patients. Preoperative AST and α-fetoprotein were independently associated with the prognosis of NBNC-HCC after hepatectomy. Serum AST levels might be associated with tumor malignancy in NBNC-HCC patients.

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Disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital and Atomic Bomb Survivors Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan

    Kazuki Takeishi MD, PhD, Takashi Maeda MD, PhD, Eiji Tsujita MD, PhD & Yo-ichi Yamashita MD, PhD

  2. Department of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    Kazuki Takeishi MD, PhD, Ken Shirabe MD, PhD, Yo-ichi Yamashita MD, PhD, Norifumi Harimoto MD, PhD, Shinji Itoh MD, PhD, Toru Ikegami MD, PhD, Tomoharu Yoshizumi MD, PhD & Yoshihiko Maehara MD, PhD

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  1. Kazuki Takeishi MD, PhD
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  2. Takashi Maeda MD, PhD
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  3. Ken Shirabe MD, PhD
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  4. Eiji Tsujita MD, PhD
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  5. Yo-ichi Yamashita MD, PhD
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  7. Shinji Itoh MD, PhD
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  9. Tomoharu Yoshizumi MD, PhD
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  10. Yoshihiko Maehara MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kazuki Takeishi MD, PhD.

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Takeishi, K., Maeda, T., Shirabe, K. et al. Clinicopathologic Features and Outcomes of Non-B, Non-C Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Hepatectomy. Ann Surg Oncol 22 (Suppl 3), 1116–1124 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-015-4728-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-015-4728-4

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