Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026
Laparoscopic Splenectomy with Pericardial Devascularization for Hypersplenism and Esophageal Variceal Hemorrhage Due to Portal Hypertension
Published on: November 15, 2024
Efficacy of splenectomy for hypersplenic patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
Masashi Hirooka1, Kiyotaka Ishida, Yoshiyasu Kisaka
1Department of Gastroenterology and Metabology, Graduate School of Medicine, Ehime University, Onsen, Japan.
Aim:
Chemotherapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with hypersplenism is generally unsatisfactory, as a lower-dose therapy is usually administered. Splenectomy may represent a better approach to overcoming the complication due to hypersplenism in patients with advanced HCC. This retrospective study was conducted to evaluate whether HCC patients who undergo splenectomy show improved prognosis.
Methods:
We examined 34 HCC patients. Twenty-two had thrombocytopenia and/or leucopenia and underwent laparoscopic splenectomy. The completion rate of full-dose drug regimens, the response rate, the toxicity of chemotherapy and the cumulative survival rate were compared between the splenectomy and non-splenectomy groups.
Results:
The response rate and the cumulative survival rate in the splenectomy group were significantly better than that in the non-splenectomy group.
Conclusions:
Splenectomy is an efficient method for advanced HCC patients with hypersplenism treated by chemotherapy.
