Zhiquan Qiu

Sorafenib extends the survival time of patients with multiple recurrences of hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation

Aim:To determine the efficacy and toxicities of sorafenib in the treatment of patients with multiple recurrences of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation in a Chinese population.Methods:Twenty patients with multiple recurrences of HCC after liver transplantation were retrospectively studied. They received either transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or TACE combined with sorafenib.Results:The median survival times (MST) after multiple recurrences was 14 months (TACE+sorafenib group) and 6 months (TACE only group). The difference was significant in MST between the two groups (P=0.005). The TACE + sorafenib group had more stable disease (SD) patients than the TACE group. The most frequent adverse events of sorafenib were hand–foot skin reaction and diarrhea. In the univariate analysis, preoperative bilirubin and CHILD grade are found to be significantly associated with tumor-free survival time, the survival time after multiple recurrences and overall survival time. TACE+sorafenib group showed a better outcome than single TACE treatment group. In the multivariate COX regression modeling, the preoperative high CHILD grade was found to be a risk factor of tumor-free survival time. In addition, the preoperative high bilirubin grade was also found to be a risk factor of survival time after recurrence and overall survival time. Furthermore, survival time after recurrence and overall survival time were also associated with therapeutic schedule, which was indicated by the GROUP.Conclusion:Treatment with TACE and sorafenib is worthy of further study and may have more extensive application prospects.

Early control of short hepatic portal veins in isolated or combined hepatic caudate lobectomy

BACKGROUND Caudate lobectomy has long been considered technically difficult. This study aimed to elaborate the significance of early control of short hepatic portal veins (SHPVs) in isolated hepatic caudate lobectomy or in hepatic caudate lobectomy combined with major partial hepatectomy, and to describe the anatomical characteristics of SHPVs. METHODS The data of 117 patients who underwent either isolated or combined caudate lobectomy by the same team of surgeons from 2005 to 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. From 2005 to 2007 (group A, n=55), we carried out early control of short hepatic veins (SHVs) only; from 2008 to 2009 (group B, n=62), we carried out early control of both SHVs and SHPVs. The two groups were compared to evaluate which surgical procedure was better. A detailed anatomical study was then carried out on the last 25 consecutive patients in group B to study the number and distribution of SHPVs during surgery. RESULTS Patients in group B had less intra-operative blood loss, less impairment of liver function, shorter postoperative hospital stay, fewer postoperative complications and required less blood transfusion (P<0.05). The number of SHPVs in the 25 patients was 183, with 7.3+/-2.7 per patient. The diameters of SHPVs were 1 to 4 mm. On average, 3.4 SHPVs/patient came from the left portal vein, 2.2 from the bifurcation, 1.4 from the right portal vein, and 0.3 from the main portal vein. On average, 3.3 SHPVs/patient supplied segment I of the liver, 0.4 for segment II, 2.1 for segment IV, 1.4 for segment V and 0.1 for segment VI. CONCLUSION Early control of SHPVs in isolated or combined hepatic caudate lobectomy may be a useful method to decrease surgical risk and improve postoperative recovery.

Prognostic importance of bile duct invasion in surgical resection with curative intent for hepatocellular carcinoma using PSM analysis

There is not yet a consensus regarding a difference in prognosis for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with and without bile duct invasion (BDI). The present study aimed to clarify the prognostic importance of BDI on the short and long-term outcome of patients with HCC who underwent surgical resection. The present study evaluated HCC with BDI, including peripheral microscopic biliary invasion and revealed that the prognosis of patients with BDI was poorer compared with those without BDI. It should be noted that peripheral BDI also had a negative impact on the prognosis of patients with HCC. The clinical prognosis assessment revealed that BDI should be considered when assigning a disease stage. BDI, either macroscopic or microscopic, indicated a poor prognosis in patients with HCC who underwent curative resection, however it was not a surgical contraindication. Macroscopic BDI and hyperbilirubinemia were significantly associated with a dismal prognosis, which should alert surgeons.

An end-to-side suspender pancreaticojejunostomy: A new invagination pancreaticojejunostomy

BACKGROUND Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is a severe complication of the pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Recently, we introduced a method of suspender pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) to the PD. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed various risk factors for complications after PD. We also introduced and assessed the suspender PJ to demonstrate its advantages. METHODS Data from 335 patients with various periampullary lesions, who underwent the Whipple procedure (classic Whipple procedure or pylorus-preserving) PD by either traditional end-to-side invagination PJ or suspender PJ, were analyzed. The correlation between either perioperative or postoperative complications and corresponding PD approaches was evaluated by univariate analysis. RESULTS A total of 147 patients received the traditional end-to-side invagination PJ, and 188 patients were given the suspender PJ. Overall, 51.9% patients had various complications after PD. The mortality rate was 2.4%. The POPF incidence in patients who received the suspender PJ was 5.3%, which was significantly lower than those who received the traditional end-to-side invagination PJ (18.4%) (P < 0.001). Univariate analysis showed that PJ approach and the pancreas texture were significantly associated with the POPF incidence rate (P < 0.01). POPF was a risk factor for both postoperative abdominal cavity infection (OR = 8.34, 95% CI: 3.99-17.42, P < 0.001) and abdominal cavity hemorrhage (OR = 4.86, 95% CI: 1.92-12.33, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Our study showed that the impact of the pancreas texture was a major risk factor for pancreatic leakage after a PD. The suspender PJ can be easily accomplished and widely applied and can effectively decrease the impact of the pancreas texture on pancreatic fistula after a PD and leads to a lower POPF incidence rate.