Histological predictors of aggressive recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after liver resection

Carla Fuster-Anglada  ¹ , Ezequiel Mauro  ² , Joana Ferrer-Fàbrega  ³ , Berta Caballol  ⁴ , Marco Sanduzzi-Zamparelli  ² , Jordi Bruix  ⁵ , Josep Fuster  ³ , María Reig  ⁵ , Alba Díaz  ⁶ , Alejandro Forner  ⁷

1. Pathology Department. CDB. Liver Oncology Unit. Hospital Clinic Barcelona. Barcelona. Spain; Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) group. IDIBAPS. Barcelona. Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd).
2. Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) group. IDIBAPS. Barcelona. Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd); Liver Unit. Liver Oncology Unit. ICMDM. Hospital Clinic Barcelona. Barcelona, Spain.
3. Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) group. IDIBAPS. Barcelona. Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd); Hepatobiliopancreatic Surgery and Liver and Pancreatic Transplantation Unit, Department of Surgery. Liver Oncology Unit. ICMDM. Hospital Clinic Barcelona. Barcelona. Spain; Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
4. Liver Unit. Liver Oncology Unit. ICMDM. Hospital Clinic Barcelona. Barcelona, Spain.
5. Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) group. IDIBAPS. Barcelona. Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd); Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit. Liver Oncology Unit. ICMDM. Hospital Clinic Barcelona. Barcelona, Spain.
6. Pathology Department. CDB. Liver Oncology Unit. Hospital Clinic Barcelona. Barcelona. Spain; Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) group. IDIBAPS. Barcelona. Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd); Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: madiaz@clinic.cat.
7. Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) group. IDIBAPS. Barcelona. Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd); Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit. Liver Oncology Unit. ICMDM. Hospital Clinic Barcelona. Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: aforner@clinic.cat.

This study assessed the risk factors for recurrence, aggressive recurrence, and survival after liver resection (LR) in patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Involving 218 patients treated between 2000 and 2020, it found that 58% developed HCC recurrence, with 35% experiencing aggressive recurrence. Microvascular invasion and/or satellitosis (mVI/S) was present in 39% of cases and emerged as the only independent predictor of recurrence, aggressive recurrence, and mortality. These findings emphasize the importance of mVI/S in managing early-stage HCC, particularly in the context of adjuvant immunotherapy or initial liver transplantation.

J Hepatol. 2024 Jun 24:S0168-8278(24)02324-9.

doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2024.06.018. Online ahead of print.PMID: 38925272
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2024.06.018