Abstract

BACKGROUND: Several investigators have advocated for extending the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) resection criteria to select patients with BCLC-B and even BCLC-C hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The objective of the current study wasto define the outcomes and recurrence patterns after resection within and beyond the current resection criteria.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent resection for HCC within (i.e., BCLC 0/A) and beyond (i.e. BCLC B/C) the current resection criteria between 2005 and 2017 were identified from an international multi-institutional database. Overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), as well as patterns of recurrence of patients undergoing HCC resection within and beyond the BCLC guidelines were examined.RESULTS: Among 756 patients, 602 (79.6%) patients were BCLC 0/A and 154 (20.4%) were BCLC B/C. Recurrences were mostly intrahepatic (within BCLC: 74.3% versus beyond BCLC: 70.8%, p = 0.80), with BCLC B/C patients more often having multiple tumors at relapse (69.6% versus 49.4%, p = 0.001) and higher rates of early (< 2 years) recurrence (88.0% versus 75.5%, p = 0.011). During the first postoperative year, annual recurrence was 38.3% and 21.3% among BCLC B/C and BCLC 0/A patients, respectively; 5-year OS among BCLC 0/A and BCLC B/C patients was 76.9% versus 51.6% (p = 0.003). On multivariable analysis, only a-fetoprotein (AFP) > 400ng/mL(HR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.07-3.15) and R1 resection (HR = 2.36, 95% CI 1.32-4.23) were associated with higher risk of recurrence among BCLC B/C patients.CONCLUSIONS: Surgery can provide acceptable outcomes among select patients with BCLC B/C HCC. The data emphasize the need to further refine the BCLC treatment algorithm as well as highlight the need for surveillance protocols with a particular focus on the liver, especially for patients undergoing resection outside the BCLC criteria.

View details for DOI 10.1245/s10434-020-08452-3

View details for PubMedID 32285278