Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with extrahepatic metastasis

Aino,Hajime; Sumie,Shuji; Niizeki,Takashi; Kuromatsu,Ryoko; Tajiri,Nobuyoshi; Nakano,Masahito; Satani,Manabu; Yamada,Shingo; Okamura,Shusuke; Shimose,Shigeo; Sumie,Hiroaki; Torimura,Takuji; Sata,Michio

doi:10.3892/mco.2014.259

Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with extrahepatic metastasis

Authors:
- Hajime Aino
- Shuji Sumie
- Takashi Niizeki
- Ryoko Kuromatsu
- Nobuyoshi Tajiri
- Masahito Nakano
- Manabu Satani
- Shingo Yamada
- Shusuke Okamura
- Shigeo Shimose
- Hiroaki Sumie
- Takuji Torimura
- Michio Sata
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Affiliations: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka 830‑0011, Japan, Liver Cancer Research Division, Research Center for Innovative Cancer Therapy, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka 830‑0011, Japan
Published online on: February 14, 2014 https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2014.259
Pages: 393-398

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Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there are differences in the clinical characteristics and survival between patients with advanced HCC with extrahepatic metastasis who received and those who did not receive previous treatment. Between April, 1998 and April, 2012, a total of 419 HCC patients with extrahepatic metastasis (81 previously untreated and 338 previously treated) were enrolled in this study. The differences in the clinical characteristics, including metastatic sites, were compared between the two groups. In addition, the prognostic predictors among all the patients and among the 81 previously untreated patients were analyzed. The distribution of the major metastatic sites was similar in the two groups; the most frequent site of extrahepatic metastasis was the lungs, followed by the bones, lymph nodes and adrenal glands. The median survival time (MST) among the 419 patients was 6.8 months. The 1‑, 2‑, 3‑ and 5‑year survival rates were 31.6, 15.3, 9.5 and 2.3%, respectively. No significant differences in survival were observed between patients who received and those who did not receive previous treatment. The multivariate analysis revealed that the Child‑Pugh classification, white blood cell count, neutrophil‑lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and primary tumor stage were independent predictors of survival for all the patients and for the 81 previously untreated patients. Differences in the clinical characteristics of patients with advanced HCC with extrahepatic metastasis were identified between patients who received and those who did not receive previous treatment. Furthermore, intrahepatic tumor status, Child‑Pugh classification, white blood cell count and NLR were demonstrated to be independent predictors of survival in HCC patients with extrahepatic metastasis.

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