Impact of anatomical liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma in preventing early‐phase local recurrence after surgery

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe superiority of anatomical liver resection (AR) for localized hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) over nonanatomical liver resection (NR) remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the impact of AR in preventing local and early HCC recurrence.MethodsA total of 280 patients who underwent initial liver resection for solitary HCC ≤5 cm in diameter were categorized into the AR and NR groups and compared using propensity score matching analysis.ResultsBetween the matched pairs (n = 87 in each group), the incidence rates of local and early (recurrence within 2 years after surgery) recurrences in the AR group were significantly lower than those in the NR group (13.8% vs. 28.7%, p = .025; 20.7% vs. 35.6%, p = .028, respectively). The overall survival in the AR group was better than that in the NR group (median: 13.4 vs. 7.6 years, p = .003). NR was among independent risk factors for early recurrence (odds ratio: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.1–3.6, p = .023) and prognostic factors for local recurrence (hazard ratio: 2.44, 95% CI: 1.4–4.4, p = .003).ConclusionAR is superior in controlling local and early recurrence postoperatively for solitary HCC ≤5 cm in diameter compared with NR.