Patients with early recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma have poor prognosis

Early recurrence (ER) after hepatic resection (HR) is a poor prognostic factor for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to identify the clinicopathological features, outcomes, and risk factors for ER after HR for small HCC in order to clarify the reasons why ER is a worse recurrence pattern.

We retrospectively examined 130 patients who underwent HR for small HCC (≤30 mm). Recurrence was classified into ER (<2 years) and late recurrence (LR) (≥2 years). The clinicopathological features, outcomes, and risk factors for ER were analyzed by multivariate analysis.

ER was observed in 39 patients (30.0%). The survival rate of the ER group was significantly lower than that of the LR group (P<0.005), and ER was an independent prognostic factor for poor survival (P=0.0001). The ER group had a significantly higher frequency (P=0.0039) and shorter interval (P=0.027) of development to carcinoma beyond the Milan criteria (DBMC) compared with the LR group, and ER was an independent risk factor for DBMC (P<0.0001). Multi-nodularity, non-simple nodular type, and microvascular invasion were independent predictors for ER (P=0.012, 0.010, and 0.019, respectively).

ER was a highly malignant recurrence pattern associated with DBMC and subsequent poor survival after HR for small HCC. Multi-nodularity, non-simple nodular type, and microvascular invasion predict ER, and taking these factors into consideration may be useful for the decision of the treatment strategy for small HCC after HR.