Comparison of clinical outcome between stereotactic body radiotherapy and radiofrequency ablation for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a novel noninvasive treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Whether its efficacy is comparable to radiofrequency ablation (RFA), a recommended therapy for unresectable HCC, is unknown. The present study aims to compare the clinical outcome between SBRT and RFA for patients with unresectable HCC.

Impact of Time to Recurrence on Survival Outcome of Salvage Liver Transplantation.

Background: Salvage liver transplantation (SLT) is the ideal treatment for patients with recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cirrhosis. The optimal timing for offering SLT was controversial. This study aimed at investigating the impact of time to recurrence and other prognostic factors on survival outcome after SLT.

Evaluation of the Intention-to-Treat Benefit of Living Donation in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Awaiting a Liver Transplant.

Importance: Living-donor liver transplant (LDLT) offers advantages over deceased-donor liver transplant (DDLT) of improved intention-to-treat outcomes and management of the shortage of deceased-donor allografts. However, conflicting data still exist on the outcomes of LDLT in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Objective: To investigate the potential survival benefit of an LDLT in patients with HCC from the time of waiting list inscription.

Long-Term Survival Outcome Between Living Donor and Deceased Donor Liver Transplant for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Intention-to-Treat and Propensity Score Matching Analyses.

Background: Previous studies comparing outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) showed conflicting results, and most studies measured survival outcomes from the time of liver transplantation (LT).

Method: This retrospective study was aimed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of HCC patients listed for LT using intention-to-treat (ITT) and propensity score matching (PSM) analyses. Clinicopathological data were retrieved from a prospectively collected database.

Long-term survival comparison between primary transplant and upfront curative treatment with salvage transplant for early stage hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Whether primary liver transplantation (PLT) or upfront curative treatment with salvage liver transplantation (SLT) is a better treatment option for early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is controversial. This study aims to compare the long-term survival starting from the time of primary treatment between the two approaches for early HCC using propensity score matching (PSM) analysis.

Methods: From 1995 to 2014, 175 patients with early HCC undergoing either PLT (n = 149) or SLT (n = 26) were retrospectively reviewed in a prospectively collected database.

Survival outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma resection with postoperative complications - a propensity-score-matched analysis.

Curative resection remains the only hope of cure for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but postoperative complications can have a significant impact on long-term survival. However, only scarce data on such impact can be found in the literature.This retrospective study reviewed the prospectively collected data of patients who underwent primary liver resection for HCC at our hospital during the period from December 1989 to December 2014.

Impact of intraoperative blood transfusion on long-term outcomes of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the impact of intraoperative blood transfusion on the long-term outcomes of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Method: Adult patients who had non-salvage liver transplantation at our centre between January 2005 and December 2012 for hepatocellular carcinomas that were within the University of California, San Francisco criteria and could not be resected or ablated were divided into groups with and without intraoperative blood transfusion. Comparisons were made between groups.

Technical note on ALPPS for a patient with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma associated with invasion of the inferior vena cava.

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma have a very short life expectancy if they receive no surgical intervention. A relatively new surgical technique termed "Associating Liver Partition and Portal Vein Ligation for Staged Hepatectomy" (ALPPS) has been employed for inducing rapid hypertrophy of the future liver remnant for patients waiting for hepatectomy. As portal vein embolization may not result in satisfactory hypertrophy before tumor progression occurs, ALPPS can be an alternative for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Durability of small-for-size living donor allografts.

Our aim was to study the long-term outcomes of living donor liver transplantation using small-for-size (SFS) grafts. From July 2002 to July 2009, 233 patients received a right liver graft with a middle hepatic vein from a living donor in our center. Recipients were stratified according to the graft weight to recipient standard liver volume (GW/SLV) ratio into 4 groups: >50% (n = 89), >40% to 50% (n = 85), >35% to 40% (n = 38), and ≤ 35% (n = 21).

Outcomes of hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma with bile duct tumour thrombus.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with bile duct tumour thrombus (BDTT) is rare. The aim of the present study was to determine the prognosis of HCC with BDTT after a hepatectomy.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on all HCC patients with BDTT having a hepatectomy from 1989 to 2012.

Treatment strategy to improve long-term survival for hepatocellular carcinoma smaller than 5 cm: major hepatectomy vs minor hepatectomy.

Background: The extent of hepatectomy for solitary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) <5 cm is controversial.

Methods: This is a retrospective review of patients with solitary HCC <5 cm, who underwent liver resection in a tertiary referral centre in Hong Kong between January 1989 and December 2009. Baseline demographics, liver function, peri-operative outcomes, and overall survival were compared.

Retransplantation using living-donor right-liver grafts.

Background: This study reviews the outcomes of retransplantation using living-donor right-liver grafts.

Methods: A retrospective study of liver retransplants performed between 1996 and 2013 was conducted. The retransplants were divided into the DD group (with deceased donors) and the LD group (with living donors).

Prevention of recurrent hepatitis B infection after liver transplantation.

Background: Recurrence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection after liver transplantation can lead to graft loss and a reduction in long-term survival. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current therapeutic options for preventing HBV recurrence in liver transplant recipients.

Data Sources: Up to January 2013, studies that were published in MEDLINE and EMBASE on prevention of HBV recurrence after liver transplantation were reviewed.

Resection strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Liver resection is the treatment of choice and standard of care in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The ultimate goal of liver resection in HCC patients is to resect primary tumor with an adequate margin while preserving as much functional liver parenchyma as possible. Tremendous improvements in perioperative outcomes after liver resection have been achieved in the past three decades.

Hepatobiliary malignancies: lessons from Asia.

With the higher incidences of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) in the East compared with the West, Asian centers have made significant contributions to the management of these malignancies. The major risk factor for HCC is hepatitis B infection in Asia in contrast to hepatitis C in Western populations. Barcelona Clinic for Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging that guides the treatment of patients with HCC in the West is considered too conservative by many Asian centers.

Direct incision versus submucosal tunneling as a method of creating transgastric accesses for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) peritoneoscopy: randomized controlled trial.

Aim: The optimal approach for creating accesses for transgastric peritoneoscopy is still uncertain. The present study aims to assess the feasibility of carrying out transgastric submucosal tunnel (SMT) peritoneoscopy and to determine whether this approach improves or restricts access to various sectors within the peritoneal cavity.

Methods: This was a randomized comparative study carried out in an in-vivo survival porcine model.

A double-blinded randomized controlled trial of laparoendoscopic single-site access versus conventional 3-port appendectomy.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to perform a multicentered prospective double-blinded randomized controlled trial comparing laparoendoscopic single-site access (LESS) versus conventional three-port laparoscopic appendectomy (TPLA).

Background: The clinical benefits and disadvantages of LESS appendectomy are uncertain.

Methods: Between October 2009 and March 2011, consecutive patients admitted with clinical or radiological evidence of appendicitis were randomly assigned to receive either LESS or TPLA.

Recognition of changes in microvascular and microstructural patterns upon magnifying endoscopy predicted the presence of extranodal gastric MALToma.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Gastric MALToma is difficult to recognize upon endoscopy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the application of microstructural and microvascular patterns in recognizing gastric MALToma on magnifying endoscopy. METHOD: All patients with diagnosis of gastric MALToma upon histology were recruited.

A comparison of angiographic embolization with surgery after failed endoscopic hemostasis to bleeding peptic ulcers.

Background: In patients with bleeding peptic ulcers in whom endoscopic hemostasis fails, surgery usually follows. Transarterial embolization (TAE) has been proposed as an alternative.

Objective: To compare the outcomes of TAE and salvage surgery for patients with peptic ulcers in whom endoscopic hemostasis failed.