Background: Our objective was to determine whether visceral obesity is associated with increased microvascular invasion (MVI) in patients surgically treated for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Methods: Data were collected retrospectively in a series of 79 patients treated by surgical resection for HCC, using CT-scan for evaluation of visceral obesity.
Results: There was no significant association between visceral obesity and MVI (OR = 1.20 (0.38-3.75), p = 0.75). Independent predictive factors of MVI were moderate/poor differentiation, tumor size above 50 mm and underlying cirrhosis.
Conclusion: This study did not support the hypothesis that visceral obesity might promote MVI in patients with HCC.
Keywords: Angiogenesis; Invasion and Metastasis; Liver and Billary System Cancer; Visceral obesity.