Delayed hepatic resection for ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma

Unusual cause of intraoperative haemorrhage: a lesson for patient counselling

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a well-known malignant neoplasm of the liver associated with spontaneous haemorrhage in 3%–15% of cases. This complication is life threatening and has a mortality rate of 33%–100%. Despite the frequency and severity of spontaneous haemorrhage, the importance of patient education about this complication has not been highlighted before. There is currently no information available on the NHS UK website, and no publications have addressed the effect of patient education. We present this case report describing a patient who developed classical symptoms of haemorrhage the day before her elective HCC resection, but was unaware of its importance, and thus did not seek medical attention. She was subsequently found to have a large volume haemoperitoneum, anaemia and a ruptured HCC intraoperatively. This case illustrates the significant importance of counselled regarding the symptoms and risk of spontaneous rupture of HCC to prompt early presentation to medical services.

Peritoneal metastasis after emergency hepatectomy and delayed hepatectomy for spontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Delayed hepatectomy is the preferred approach for spontaneous rupture of resectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, delayed surgery for ruptured HCC may increase the risk of peritoneal metastasis.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the pooled data obtained from 44 HCC patients with spontaneously ruptured hemorrhage, These patients were divided into emergency group and delayed group. Perioperative events, overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates, and the incidence of recurrent and metastatic disease were compared between these two groups.

RESULTS

Median survival time was 17.0 months in the emergency group vs. 28.0 months in the delayed group. In the emergency group, the 6-month, 1-year and 3-year OS rates were 58.8%, 57.6% and 11.5%. In the delayed hepatectomy group, the 6-month, 1-year and 3-year OS rates of were 84.3%, 77.5% and 37.8%. The incidence of peritoneal metastasis was higher in delayed group than in the emergency group, but the difference was not statistically significant (40.7% vs. 35.3%, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Delayed hepatectomy warrants better short-term prognosis, compared with emergency hepatectomy, for HCC patients with spontaneously ruptured hemorrhage. Delayed hepatectomy does not increase the possibility of postoperative peritoneal metastasis.

Surgical Outcomes for the Ruptured Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Multicenter Analysis with a Case-Controlled Study

BACKGROUND

While spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a poor prognosis, the true impact of a rupture on survival after hepatic resection is unclear.

METHODS

Fifty-eight patients with ruptured HCC and 1922 with non-ruptured HCC underwent hepatic resection between 2000 and 2013. To correct the difference in the clinicopathological factors between the two groups, propensity score matching (PSM) was used at a 1:1 ratio, resulting in a comparison of 42 patients/group. We investigated outcomes in all patients with ruptured HCC and compared outcomes between the two matched groups.

RESULTS

Of the 58 patients with ruptured HCC, 7 patients (13 %) died postoperatively. Overall survival (OS) rate at 5 years after hepatic resection was 37 %. Emergency hepatic resection was an independent risk factor for in-hospital death and Child-Pugh class B for unfavorable OS in multivariate analysis. Clinicopathological variables were well-balanced between the two groups after PSM. No significant differences were noted in incidence of in-hospital death (ruptured HCC 12 % vs non-ruptured HCC 2 %, p = 0.202) or OS rate (5/10-year; 42 %/38 % vs 67 %/30 %, p = 0.115).

CONCLUSION

Emergency hepatic resection should be avoided for ruptured HCC in Child-Pugh class B patients. Rupture itself was not a risk for unfavorable surgical outcomes.

Spontaneous ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is rising worldwide. Spontaneous rupture of HCC occasionally occurs, and ruptured HCC with intraperitoneal hemorrhage is potentially life-threatening. The most common symptom of ruptured HCC is acute abdominal pain. The tumor size in ruptured HCC is significantly greater than that in non-ruptured HCC, and HCC protrudes beyond the original liver margin. In the acute phase, hemostasis is the primary concern and tumor treatment is secondary. Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) can effectively induce hemostasis. The hemostatic success rate of TAE ranges 53-100%. A one-stage surgical operation is a treatment modality for selected patients. Conservative treatment is usually given to patients in a moribund state with inoperable tumors and thus has poor outcomes. Patients with severe ruptures of advanced HCC and poor liver function have high mortality rates. Liver failure occurs in 12-42% of patients during the acute phase. In the stable phase, tumor treatment, such as transarterial chemoembolization or hepatic resection should be concerned. The combination of acute hemorrhage and cancer in patients with ruptured HCC requires a two-step therapeutic approach. TAE followed by elective hepatectomy is considered an effective strategy for patients with ruptured HCC.

Patients with spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma benefit from staged surgical resection after successful transarterial embolization

BACKGROUND

Surgical resection of spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after successful transarterial embolization (TAE) remains controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate its efficacy in a series of cases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively examined ruptured HCC cases from Jan 2000 to Dec 2008; all of these 126 cases received TAE as the initial therapy. Subsequently, 74 cases received staged surgical resection, and the remaining 52 cases underwent repeated TACE. The baseline demographic data, tumor characteristics, and long term survival were recorded and compared.

RESULTS

The demographic and baseline characteristics were comparable between the hepatic resection and TACE groups; furthermore, no significant difference in the tumor characteristics was detected between the two groups. The differences in in-hospital, 30- day and 90-day mortality between the two groups were not significant (P>0.05). However, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 85.1%, 63.5%, and 37.8%, respectively, in the hepatic resection group, which were significantly higher than those in the TACE group (69.2%, 46.2%, and 17.3%, respectively, P=0.004). Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that these patients benefitted from hepatic resection compared with TACE with respect to long-term outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Staged hepatic resection after TAE is an effective treatment that results in superior long-term survival to repeated TACE.

Risk factors and surgical outcomes for spontaneous rupture of BCLC stages A and B hepatocellular carcinoma: A case-control study

AIM: To investigate the risk factors and surgical outcomes for spontaneous rupture of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages A and B hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS: From April 2002 to November 2006, 92 consecutive patients with spontaneous rupture of BCLC stage A or B HCC undergoing hepatic resection were included in a case group. A control arm of 184 cases (1:2 ratio) was chosen by matching the age, sex, BCLC stage and time of admission among the 2904 consecutive patients with non-ruptured HCC undergoing hepatic resection. Histological confirmation of HCC was available for all patients and ruptured HCC was confirmed by focal discontinuity of the tumor with surrounding perihepatic hematoma observed intraoperatively. Patients with microvascular thrombus in the hepatic vein branches were excluded from the study. Clinical data and survival time were collected and analysed.

RESULTS: Sixteen patients were excluded from the study based on exclusion criteria, of whom 3 were in the case group and 13 in the control group. Compared with the control group, more patients in the case group had underlying diseases of hypertension (10.1% vs 3.5%, P = 0.030) and liver cirrhosis (82.0% vs 57.9%, P < 0.001). Tumors in 67 (75.3%) patients in the case group were located in segments II, III and VI, and the figure in the control group was also 67 (39.7%) (P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, hypertension (HR = 7.38, 95%CI: 1.91-28.58, P = 0.004), liver cirrhosis (HR = 6.04, 95%CI: 2.83-12.88, P < 0.001) and tumor location in segments II, III and VI (HR = 5.03, 95%CI: 2.70-6.37, P < 0.001) were predictive for spontaneous rupture of HCC. In the case group, the median survival time and median disease-free survival time were 12 mo (range: 1-78 mo) and 4 mo (range: 0-78 mo), respectively. The 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates and disease-free survival rates were 66.3%, 23.4% and 10.1%, and 57.0%, 16.8% and 4.5%, respectively. Only radical resection remained predictive for overall survival (HR = 0.32, 95%CI: 0.08-0.61, P = 0.015) and disease-free survival (HR = 0.12, 95%CI: 0.01-0.73, P = 0.002).

CONCLUSION: Tumor location, hypertension and liver cirrhosis are associated with spontaneous rupture of HCC. One-stage hepatectomy should be recommended to patients with BCLC stages A and B disease.

Partial hepatectomy for ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Improvements in surgical technique and perioperative care have made partial hepatectomy a safe and effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), even in the event of spontaneous HCC rupture.

METHODS

A consecutive cohort of patients who underwent partial hepatectomy for HCC between 2000 and 2009 was divided into a ruptured group and a non-ruptured group. Patients with ruptured HCC were further divided into emergency and staged hepatectomy subgroups. Mortality and morbidity, overall survival and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were compared. Prognostic factors for overall survival and RFS were identified by univariable and multivariable analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 1233 patients underwent partial hepatectomy for HCC, of whom 143 had a ruptured tumour. The morbidity and mortality rates were similar in the ruptured and non-ruptured groups, as well as in the emergency and staged subgroups. In univariable analyses, overall survival and RFS were lower in the ruptured group than in the non-ruptured group (both P < 0·001), and also in the emergency subgroup compared with the staged subgroup (P = 0·016 and P = 0·025 respectively). In multivariable analysis, spontaneous rupture independently predicted poor overall survival after hepatectomy (hazard ratio 1·54, 95 per cent confidence interval 1·24 to 1·93) and RFS (HR 1·75, 1·39 to 2·22). Overall survival and RFS after hepatectomy for ruptured HCC in the emergency and staged subgroups were not significantly different in multivariable analyses.

CONCLUSION

Spontaneous rupture predicted poor long-term survival after hepatectomy for HCC, but surgical treatment seems possible, safe and appropriate in selected patients.

Outcome and prognostic factors of spontaneous ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transarterial embolization

BACKGROUND

Rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a life-threatening condition accompanied by hemorrhage. Transarterial embolization/chemoembolization (TAE/TACE) can be used as the first-line treatment to achieve initial homeostasis.

PURPOSE

To investigate the outcome of TAE/TACE for spontaneous ruptured HCC and to determine the prognostic factors affecting survival.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the clinicoradiologic data of 47 patients (8 women, 39 men; median age 64.4 years) with serum bilirubin levels <3.0 mg/dL that underwent TAE/TACE for ruptured HCC between January 2004 and June 2010. Survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and prognostic factors of poor survival were obtained by univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

The clinical success rate of TAE/TACE was 94% (44/47). The median survival time was 179.6 days. The 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month survival rates were 75%, 54%, 48%, and 43%, respectively. Old age, a previous history of TACE for HCC, low initial hemoglobin level, higher blood transfusion requirement, Child-Pugh class C, high serum bilirubin level, low serum albumin level, prolonged prothrombin time, high serum creatinine level on admission, presence of encephalopathy, severe ascites, lobar TAE/TACE, presence of portal vein thrombosis, and tumors involving both lobes were associated with poor survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that higher blood transfusion requirement, Child-Pugh class C, presence of portal vein thrombosis, and tumors involving both lobes were significant predictors of poor survival.

CONCLUSION

TAE/TACE is effective for achieving initial hemostasis, which is critical to survival. Regardless of successful TAE/TACE, the survival rate in patients with Child-Pugh class C remains poor. Portal vein thrombosis and tumor extent are significant image parameters for predicting survival after TAE/TACE for ruptured HCC.

Intraperitoneal metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma after spontaneous rupture: A case report

Rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a life-threatening complication. Peritoneal metastasis of HCC after spontaneous rupture was seldom noted. We report a case of intraperitoneal metastasis of HCC after spontaneous rupture. A previously asymptomatic 72-year-old man was admitted due to dull abdominal pain with abdominal fullness. He had a history of HCC rupture 10 mo ago and transarterial embolization was performed at that time. Abdominal computer tomography (CT) scan showed a huge peritoneal mass over the right upper quadrant area. Surgical resection was arranged and subsequent microscopic examination confirmed a diagnosis of moderately-differentiated HCC.

Hémorragie intra-tumorale massive responsable d’un syndrome cave

Intralesional massive haemorrhage responsible for inferior vena cava syndrome is a very rare complication of hepatocellular carcinoma. A 36-year-old man with no past medical history was referred to hospital for abdominal pain with clinical and biological signs of internal bleeding. An abdominal CT scan showed a huge right liver mass, with regular margins and a fluid content, indicating a large intratumoral haemorrhage complicating hepatocellular carcinoma. Due to haemodynamic stability and the signs of inferior vena cava compression conservative management was chosen prior to surgical treatment of the tumour. Three months later, the huge liver mass remained unchanged but the inferior vena cava syndrome had decreased and the patient's condition improved. After evaluation of liver function and the extent of the tumour, a surgical procedure was performed via a subcostal incision with midline extension and sternotomy to control the intrapericardial inferior vena cava and perform a veno-venous bypass with the technique used for orthotopic liver transplantation. Then, right hepatectomy (segments V to VIII) was performed with an anterior approach. The postoperative course was uneventful. This two-step strategy allowed successful surgery for this rare complication of a hepatocellular carcinoma on a normal liver and could be recommended for the management of any unruptured intratumoral haemorrhages.

Etiology and management of hemmorrhage in spontaneous liver rupture: a report of 70 cases

AIM: To analyze the causes and management of hemorrhage in spontaneous liver rupture.

METHODS: Seventy cases of spontaneous liver rupture were retrospectively analyzed for causes of hemorrhage and therapeutic effects of surgical approaches.

RESULTS: It was demonstrated that the causes of spontaneous liver rupture were primary liver cancer in 60 cases (85.7%), cirrhosis in 3 cases (4.3%), liver angioma in 2 cases (2.9%), liver adenoma in 4 cases (5.7%),and secondary liver cancer in 1 case (1.4%). Hemostasis was achieved with surgical approaches in 68 cases (97.1%) and non-surgical approaches in 2 cases (2.9%). Surgical interventions included suture, ligation of hepatic artery, hepatic artery chemoembolization and partial hepatic resection.

CONCLUSION: The results suggest that surgical intervention is still the main therapeutic method and the best procedure that should be selected according to causes of disease and patient’s condition and history.

Spontaneous rupture of hepatocelluar carcinoma: surgical resection and long-term survival

AIMS

Spontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a life-threatening event, particularly in patients with associated cirrhosis. We present our experience of hepatic resection of ruptured HCC.

METHODS

We performed 199 resections of hepatocellular carcinoma between January 1984 and December 1999. Six (3%) of these patients were operated on as an emergency because of haemoperitoneum: in five the liver was cirrhotic.

RESULTS

The mean duration of the operation was 195+/-101 min; all the patients received blood transfusions. The overall morbidity was 50%, with a mortality rate of 16.5%. Three patients were alive at 50, 80 and 116 months respectively; two had an intrahepatic recurrence treated by chemoembolization.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-surgical treatment of spontaneously ruptured hepatocarcinoma should be performed only in patients with contraindication to surgery. Hepatic resection should be the treatment of choice since, according to our experience, long-term results are similar to those of elective surgery.

Laparoscopy extends the indications for liver resection in patients with cirrhosis

BACKGROUND

Clinical or biological evidence of liver failure is usually considered a contraindication to open liver surgery as it is associated with a prohibitive risk of postoperative death.

METHODS

This report describes three patients who had resection of a superficial hepatocellular carcinoma suspected either to be ruptured, or at high risk of rupture, using the laparoscopic approach. All three patients had intractable ascites, in two superimposed on active hepatitis. Surgery was per- formed under continuous carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum with intermittent clamping of the hepatic pedicle.

RESULTS

Intraoperative blood loss was between 100 and 400 ml; no blood transfusion was required. The postoperative course was uneventful except for a transient leak of ascites through the trocar wounds. Duration of in-hospital stay was 6-10 days. Liver function tests had returned to preoperative values within 1 month of surgery in all patients.

CONCLUSION

The laparoscopic approach may enable liver resection in patients with cirrhosis and evidence of liver failure that would contraindicate open surgery.