[A clinico-pathological study involving a consecutive series of 75 primary liver carcinomas with resection]

Seventy-five consecutive primary liver cancers that had a hepatic resection have been examined clinicopathologically. Eighteen were HBsAg+ cases (mean age: 50.9 yr) and 57 were HBsAg- cases (mean age 60.1 yr). HBsAg was not detected in the livers of the 57 HBsAg- cases, though it was found in the noncancerous parts of 16 of these cases and in the cancerous parts of 3 of the 18 HBsAg+ cases. A histologic, comparative study between the HBsAg+ and HBsAg+ cases showed no significant morphologic differences, except for somewhat frequent portal invasions in the former. From the viewpoint of prognosis, the ominous signs seem to be a positivity of serum HBsAg, large tumors, the presence of a portal and/or hepatic venous invasion, the presence of intra-and/or extrahepatic implants, and a high Edmondson's grade.