Objective: To investigate the risk factors of early postoperative recurrence in patients with single and small (≤3 cm) hepatitis B virus-associated primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC).
Methods: This retrospective study analyzed patients with single and small HBV-HCC. All patients were followed up for 1 year after surgery.
Results: Among 182 patients, 54 patients had early recurrence within 1 year. The recurrence group had higher proportions of men, drinking history, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class C, patients who underwent transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), and serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) >10 ng/mL as well as higher gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) levels and lower total protein (TP) and CD8+ T lymphocyte levels than the no recurrence group. Cox multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that drinking history (HR, 1.312; 95% CI, 1.042-1.652), CTP class C (HR, 1.236; 95% CI, 1.037-1.473), TACE treatment (HR, 1.241; 95% CI, 1.026-1.501), GGT (HR, 1.138; 95% CI, 1.042-1.243), TP (HR, 0.729; 95% CI, 0.555-0.957), and AFP (HR, 2.519; 95% CI, 1.343-4.726) were independently associated with early postoperative recurrence.
Conclusion: Drinking history, CTP class C, TACE, serum AFP, GGT, and TP levels were independently associated with early postoperative recurrence in patients with single and small HBV-HCC.
Keywords: Child–Turcotte–Pugh; Hepatitis B virus; alpha-fetoprotein; drinking history; gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase; primary hepatocellular carcinoma; prognosis; recurrence; total protein; transarterial chemoembolization.