Background: The significance of pTNM staging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as a prognostic factor after hepatic resection was evaluated.
Patients and methods: The prognoses were analyzed in 262 patients treated with hepatic resection for HCC.
Results: As a whole, the pTNM stages correlated well with the survival rates. The survival rates of stage I and II patients were significantly higher than those of stages III and IV. However, there was no significant difference in survivals between stage I and II, and between stage III and IV-A. The survival rates of the patients treated with segmentectomy or lobectomy in stages I and II were significantly higher than those with subsegmentectomy or smaller resection. Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor size greater than 2 cm, multiple gross tumors, surgical margin less than 1 cm, and Child C classification were independently significant factors of poor survival.
Conclusions: The results of hepatic resection for HCC should be stratified by pTNM staging and by Child classification of hepatic function before comparison.