Korean J Hepatol.  2012 Mar;18(1):48-55. 10.3350/kjhep.2012.18.1.48.

Analysis of prognostic factors and 5-year survival rate in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a single-center experience

• Lee SS
• Shin HS
• Kim HJ
• Lee SJ
• Lee HS
• Hyun KH
• Kim YH
• Kwon BW
• Han JH
• Choi H
• Kim BH
• Lee JH
• Kang HY
• Shin HD
• Song IH

• KMID: 1372651
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3350/kjhep.2012.18.1.48

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is the third most common cancer in Korea, has a very poor prognosis. However, only a few studies have performed a comprehensive survival-related analysis in all patients who were consecutively diagnosed and treated over a given period of time. The aim of this study was to determine the 5-year survival rate and its prognostic factors among HCC patients.
METHODS
In total, 257 patients who were consecutively diagnosed with HCC between January 2000 and December 2003 were followed until death or until December 2008. We analyzed their survival outcomes according to their clinical characteristics, tumor staging, and treatment modalities, and determined the independent prognostic factors affecting survival.
RESULTS
The patients were aged 59+/-10 years (mean+/-SD). During the follow-up period, 223 patients (86.8%) died and the overall median survival was 10.8 months; the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 44.4%, 21.0%, and 12.1%, respectively. The outcomes in patients with tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage I or II and Child-Pugh class A or B were significantly better with surgical resection than with other treatment modalities (P<0.01). Patients who underwent supplementary transcatheter arterial chemoembolization as a second-line treatment after surgical resection had better outcomes than those who underwent surgical resection alone (P=0.02). Initial symptoms, Child-Pugh class, serum alpha-fetoprotein, tumor size, portal vein thrombosis, and TNM stage were found to be independent prognostic factors for survival among HCC patients.
CONCLUSIONS
This retrospective cohort study elucidated survival outcomes and prognostic factors affecting survival in HCC patients at a single center.

Keyword

Hepatocellular carcinoma; Survival; Prognosis; Treatment; Tumor staging

MeSH Terms

Aged
Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/drug therapy/*mortality/surgery
Catheter Ablation
Cohort Studies
Female
Humans
Kaplan-Meier Estimate
Liver Neoplasms/drug therapy/*mortality/surgery
Male
Middle Aged
Neoplasm Staging
Portal Vein
Prognosis
Retrospective Studies
Severity of Illness Index
Survival Rate
Venous Thrombosis/complications
alpha-Fetoproteins/analysis