Related Experiment Videos
Better post-resectional survival in female cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
Insights
Female patients with liver cancer and cirrhosis show better survival rates. They have lower rates of smoking, alcohol use, and hepatitis B infection, along with reduced tumor cell proliferation compared to males.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Oncology
- Genetics
Background:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is more common in males.
- Cirrhosis is a significant risk factor for HCC.
- Understanding sex-based differences in HCC is crucial for targeted treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare surgical outcomes between male and female patients with HCC and cirrhosis.
- To identify clinical and biological factors influencing HCC outcomes in different sexes.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 129 HCC patients with cirrhosis (109 males, 20 females) who underwent hepatic resection.
- Comparison of clinical, histological, DNA ploidy, and cell-cycle phase fraction between sexes.
- Survival analysis using log-rank test.
Main Results:
- Female patients had lower rates of smoking, alcohol intake, and hepatitis B surface antigen positivity.
- Tumor cell-cycle analysis revealed a significantly lower G2M phase fraction in females.
- Female patients demonstrated significantly better 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease-free survival rates.
Conclusions:
- Female HCC patients with cirrhosis exhibit distinct risk factor profiles and tumor biology.
- Lower incidences of hepatitis B, alcohol abuse, and reduced tumor cell proliferation contribute to better outcomes in females.
- Female sex is associated with improved survival in HCC patients with cirrhosis.
Background/Aims:
Hepatocellular carcinoma is notably more prevalent in male. The purpose of this study was to assess the surgical results in male and female cirrhotic patients.
Methodology:
The surgical outcomes of 129 hepatocellular carcinoma patients with cirrhosis, including 109 males and 20 females, who had undergone hepatic resection were studied. The clinical, histologic features, DNA ploidy and proliferative phase fraction of tumor and cirrhotic liver were compared between male and female patients.
Results:
Female patients had significantly lower incidences of history of smoking (5.6% vs. 52.9%, P < 0.001), alcohol intake (5.6% vs. 42.3%, P = 0.003) and hepatitis B surface antigen positivity (47.1% vs. 73.5%, P = 0.028) than male. Cell-cycle analysis of tumor part revealed female had a significant lower G2M phase fraction (3.4%) than male (5.7%) (P = 0.027). The 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease-free survival rates in male and female patients were 65.5% and 88.2%, 36% and 64.4%, and 29.7% and 64.4%, respectively. Female patients had a significantly better disease-free survival than male (P = 0.034, log-rank test).
Conclusions:
Female hepatocellular carcinoma with cirrhosis had lower incidences of hepatitis B surface antigenemia, alcohol abuse and lower DNA postsynthetic phase fraction in tumor tissue than male. Consequently, female hepatocellular carcinoma with cirrhosis had better survival than male.