The aim of current study is to evaluate the prognostic significan

The aim of current study is to evaluate the prognostic significance of tumor size in small resected HCC. Methods:  selleck screening library Patients who underwent surgical resection for small HCC at the Changhua Christian Hospital during January 2001 to June 2007 were

enrolled. Small HCC was defined as a single HCC nodule with maximum diameter ≤ 5 cm. Cox regression hazard ratios for cancer-specific death were calculated to survey the prognostic significance of tumor size. We then determined the optimal cut-point for tumor size that could be used to stratify patients into 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) groups. Results:  A total of 140 patients who underwent resection of small HCC were enrolled. The mean tumor size was 2.9 cm (range 0.9–5.0) and the mean follow-up period was 43.4 months. The 5-year DFS and CSS rates were 46.6% and 81.6%, respectively. Cox regression

analysis revealed that tumor size (hazard ratio = 2.973, 95% confidence interval: 1.073–8.239, P = 0.036) was an independent prognostic factor. Our analysis showed that a tumor size of 3 cm was the cut-point that could dichotomize patients into statistically different 5-year DFS and CSS risk groups. Conclusions:  Tumor size is an independent prognostic factor in resected small HCC and the prognostic significance of tumor size may vary according to different cut-off points. “
“Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most prevalent cancer worldwide and 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 the third most frequent cause of cancer-related selleck products mortality.[1, 2] More than 700,000 cases were diagnosed in 2008. At least 80% of cases are diagnosed in areas with poor healthcare infrastructures, leaving the

vast majority of patients without proper treatment. In Western countries the incidence and prevalence of HCC are also increasing. In the U.S. the age-adjusted incidence is around 4.2 per 100,000, accounting for about 20,000 new cases diagnosed each year.[1, 2] Several treatment options are available to patients with early to intermediate stage HCC with similar short-term results. Liver transplantation is curative for both HCC and the accompanying liver cirrhosis; however, it can be offered only to a minority of patients. HCC imposes a severe human and economic burden on patients, their families, and society. The assessment of the burden of disease is an area of growing interest and is used to establish public health objectives, to inform decisions on the allocation of healthcare resources across disease categories, and to evaluate the costs and benefits of health interventions in specific fields.[3, 5] Core measures of disease burden include incidence, prevalence, mortality, and the cost of illness (COI). The COI includes direct costs, morbidity costs (i.e.

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