Factors Predicting Survival in Ruptured Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Surgical Resection

Background: Today, ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a less frequently encountered problem globally due to availability of cancer surveillance protocols for the high-risk population. However, in Thailand, a number of patients do not enroll in screening programs, leading to high rates of ruptured complications. In fit-for-surgery and clinically stable patients, hepatectomy means long-term survival. This study aimed to identify predictive factors of survival in resected patients. Methods: A retrospective review of patients with ruptured HCC who underwent liver resection between January 2013 and December 2019 at Siriraj Hospital was performed. The clinical data and outcomes of patients were analyzed. Results: A total of forty-five patients with ruptured HCC underwent resection or 9.8% (45/460) of all operable HCC cases. There were 6 patients (14.3%) who suffered from postoperative liver failure and one patient (2.4%) died within 30 days. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival were 90%, 64%, 52% and 42.5%, 24%, 16% at 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively. The factors affecting OS were tumor size > 10 cm, vascular invasion, and positive resection margin. Conclusion: Ruptured HCC is treatable disease and surgical resection plays a major role in good outcomes in patients.

Prevention of Liver Failure in Extended Hepatic Resection

Background. Postoperative failure is a major cause of adverse outcomes in extensive liver resection. Post-resection liver failure requires intensive, including extracorporeal, care. Issues in correcting liver failure warrant novel approaches to prevent severe cases.Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of 228 various-extent liver resections included minor (55.7 %), major (26.8 %) and extended (17.5 %) operations for malignant, benign and parasitic liver lesions. The post-resection liver failure rate has ben graded according to ISGLS.Results and discussion. Postoperative hepatic failure developed in 58 (25.4 %) cases, including 5 of 127 minor (3.9 %) resections, 18 major (29.5 %) and 35 of 40 extended resections (87.5 %). Mild class A liver failures were reported in 12.3 %, and severe classes B and C — in 9.2 % and 3.9 % cases, respectively.CT volumetry in place of the number of resected segments is suggested as a criterion to grade the expected post-resection residual liver, with >70 % defining a minor, 36–70 % — major and 25–35 % — extended expected residual liver.A two-staged extended hepatic resection approach is proposed to reduce postoperative liver failure, with vascular radiology-guided right portal vein embolisation (RPVE) or associating liver partition and portal vein ligation (ALPPS) at stage 1.A comparison of extended hepatic resection outcomes (n = 40) showed a significantly higher rate and severity of liver failure in single- vs. two-staged operations (p < 0.05).Conclusion. Liver failure is a leading cause of death in major and extended hepatic resection. Preoperative CT volumetry allows a more accurate volumetric control of expected post-resection residual liver. Two-staged extended hepatic resection can reliably reduce the rate and severity of postoperative liver failure.

Development and Validation of a Nomogram Based on Noninvasive Liver Reserve and Fibrosis (PALBI and FIB-4) Model to Predict Posthepatectomy Liver Failure Grade B-C in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatectomy is currently one of the most effective treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, postoperative liver failure (PHLF) is a serious complication and the leading cause of mortality in patients with HCC after hepatectomy. This study attempted to develop a novel nomogram based on noninvasive liver reserve and fibrosis models, platelet-albumin-bilirubin grade (PALBI) and fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4), able to predict PHLF grade B-C. This was a single-centre retrospective study of 574 patients with HCC undergoing hepatectomy between 2014 and 2018. The independent risk factors of PHLF were screened using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Multivariate logistic regression was performed using the training set, and the nomogram was developed and visualised. The utility of the model was evaluated in a validation set using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. A total of 574 HCC patients were included (383 in the training set and 191 for the validation set) and included PHLF grade B-C complications of 14.8, 15.4, and 13.6%, respectively. Overall, cirrhosis ( P < 0.026 , OR = 2.296, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1.02–4.786), major hepatectomy ( P = 0.031 , OR = 2.211, 95% CI 1.077–4.542), ascites ( P = 0.014 , OR = 3.588, 95% 1.299–9.913), intraoperative blood loss ( P < 0.001 , OR = 4.683, 95% CI 2.281–9.616), PALBI score >−2.53 (, OR = 3.609, 95% CI 1.486–8.764), and FIB-4 score ≥1.45 ( P < 0.001 , OR = 5.267, 95% CI 2.077–13.351) were identified as independent risk factors associated with PHLF grade B-C in the training set. The areas under the ROC curves for the nomogram model in predicting PHLF grade B-C were significant for both the training and validation sets (0.832 vs 0.803). The proposed nomogram predicted PHLF grade B-C among patients with HCC with a better prognostic accuracy than other currently available fibrosis and noninvasive liver reserve models.

Feasibility of Right Upper Transversal Hepatectomy in the Absence of an Inferior Right Hepatic Vein: New Insights regarding This Complex Procedure

Background. Right upper transversal hepatectomy (RUTH) is defined as the removal of liver segments 7, 8, and 4A with ligature of the right and middle hepatic veins and is considered one of the most complex techniques of parenchymal-sparing hepatectomies. This procedure can be performed, without venous reconstruction, if collateral veins are present communicating within remnant liver segments to a large inferior right hepatic vein and/or to the left hepatic vein. This venous network could maintain outflow from the inferior right segments (S5, S6) to the left liver when a RUTH is performed, even in the absence of an inferior right hepatic vein. The aim of this study is to present our experience with RUTH without venous reconstruction in patients with and without the presence of an inferior right hepatic vein (IRHV). Methods. Patients submitted to RUTH for treatment of liver metastases were selected from our database. The presence of an IRHV, clinical and surgical characteristics of the patients, immediate outcomes, viability of liver segments 5 and 6, and long-term survival were analyzed. Results. RUTH was successfully performed in four patients. In two patients, IRHV was not present, but intrahepatic communicating veins between proximal right and middle hepatic veins and left hepatic vein were present. No venous reconstructions were performed. Mild congestion of the inferior right segments occurred in the patients where there was no IRHV but no immediate, early, or late complications were observed. Conclusions. RUTH is feasible and can be performed even in the absence of an IRHV, without venous reconstruction. Some degree of congestion of the right inferior liver segments might occur when an IRHV is absent, yet this is not clinically significant when communicating veins are present. Maximum parenchyma preservation might prevent postoperative liver failure and allow repeated resections in case of hepatic recurrence.