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BACKGROUND Advances in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have improved the prognosis for patients with HCC who undergo liver resection. The objective of this study was to evaluate prognostic predictors for patients with HCC who underwent liver resection in a Japanese nationwide data base. METHODS In this study, the authors analyzed 12,118 patients with HCC in a Japanese nationwide data base who underwent liver resection between 1990 and 1999 and compared them with a previous analysis of patients between 1982 and 1989. All patients were evaluated for prognostic factors. RESULTS During the last decade, the increases in patients who were without hepatitis B virus surface antigen, who had small tumors, and who had portal vein invasion were noted. The 5‐year overall survival rates for patients with HCC improved to 50.5%, compared with < 40% in the previous analysis. A multivariate analysis using a stratified Cox proportional hazards model according to associated liver disease indicated that age, degree of liver damage, α‐fetoprotein level, maximal tumor dimension, number of tumors, intrahepatic extent of tumor, extrahepatic metastasis, portal vein invasion, hepatic vein invasion, surgical curability, and free surgical margins were independent prognostic predictors for patients with HCC. Operative mortality decreased from 2.3% in 1990–1991 to 0.6% in 1998–1999. CONCLUSIONS Outcomes and operative mortality rates in patients with HCC improved during the last decade. Age, degree of liver damage, α‐fetoprotein level, maximal tumor dimension, number of tumors, intrahepatic extent of tumor, extrahepatic metastasis, portal vein invasion, hepatic vein invasion, surgical curability, and free surgical margins were prognostic factors for patients with HCC who underwent liver resection. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.

In the 17th Nationwide Follow-up Survey of Primary Liver Cancer in Japan, 18 213 individuals were newly registered as patients with primary liver cancer at 645 medical institutions over a period of 2 years (from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2003). Of these patients, 94.2% had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and 4.1% had intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). In addition, 24 705 follow-up patients were registered in the survey. Epidemiological and clinicopathological factors, diagnosis and treatment were investigated in the newly registered patients, and the cumulative survival rates of newly registered patients in the 12th to 17th follow-up surveys conducted between 1992 and 2003 were calculated for each histological type (HCC, ICC, and combined HCC and ICC) and stratified by background factors and treatment. The data obtained in this follow-up survey should contribute to future research and medical practice for primary liver cancer.

Early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been defined as a well-differentiated cancer containing Glisson's triad, but it remains unknown whether this lesion is curable. We prospectively studied 70 patients (enrolled from 1,172 referrals between 1982 and 1991) who had a diagnosis of a single HCC 2 cm or less in diameter (Stage T1) and who underwent curative hepatectomy and long-term follow-up (range, 0.2 to 14.3 years). Patients were eligible for surgery if they had a tumor that met the diagnostic criteria for HCC and were in Child-Pugh class A (n ‫؍‬ 59) or B (n ‫؍‬ 11) status. Among the 70 patients, there was 1 operative death. Based on our typing system, the tumors were assigned as early HCC (n ‫؍‬ 15), overt HCC (n ‫؍‬ 52), and non-HCC tumor (n ‫؍‬ 3). The rate of microscopic regional spread was lower in early HCCs than in overt HCCs (7% vs. 42%; P ‫؍‬ .01). The early HCC group had a longer time to recurrence than did the overt HCC group (3.9 vs. 1.7 years; P F .001) and had no local recurrence. After a median follow-up of 6.3 years, both overall survival and recurrence-free survival in the early HCC group were significantly better than those in the overt HCC group (P ‫؍‬ .01; P ‫؍‬ .001). In these two groups, the 5-year rates of overall survival were 93% and 54% (P ‫؍‬ .01), and those of recurrence-free survival were 47% and 16% (P ‫؍‬ .05), respectively; a significant survival benefit persisted over a decade (57% vs. 21%; P ‫؍‬ .05). The early HCC group was at a lower risk of recurrence (relative risk, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.65; P ‫؍‬ .002) and death (relative risk, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.09 to 0.73; P ‫؍‬ .01) than was the overt HCC group. Early HCC is a distinct clinical entity with a high rate of surgical cure, thereby justifying its definition. It can be a lesion that corresponds to ''Stage 0'' cancer in other organs. (HEPATOLOGY 1998;28:1241-1246

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