Univariate and multivariate analyses of variables related to survival.

<p>Univariate and multivariate analyses of variables related to survival.</p

Univariate and Multivariate Analysis of Extrasubsegmental Recurrences (n = 303).

<p>HR, hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval; HBsAg, hepatitis B surface antigen; Anti-HCVAb, anti-hepatitis C virus antibody; AST, aspartate aminotransferase: ALT, alanine aminotransferase, AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; DCP, des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin; AFP-L3, lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of AFP.</p

Patient enrollment flow.

<p>Patient enrollment flow.</p

Univariate and Multivariate Analysis of Survival after Recurrence^*.

*<p>Clinical data at the diagnosis of recurrence were adopted.</p><p>HR, hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval; HBsAg, hepatitis B surface antigen; Anti-HCVAb, anti-hepatitis C virus antibody; AST, aspartate aminotransferase: ALT, alanine aminotransferase, AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; DCP, des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin; AFP-L3, lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of AFP.</p

Baseline Characteristics of the HCC Patients analyzed in this study (n = 303).

<p>AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; AFP-L3, lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of AFP; Anti-HCVAb, anti-hepatitis C virus antibody; DCP, des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin; HBsAg, hepatitis B surface antigen.</p

Univariate and multivariate analyses of variables related to recurrence.

<p>Univariate and multivariate analyses of variables related to recurrence.</p

Frequency of and Predictive Factors for Vascular Invasion after Radiofrequency Ablation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

<div><p>Background</p><p>Vascular invasion in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is representative of advanced disease with an extremely poor prognosis. The detailed course of its development has not been fully elucidated.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We enrolled 1057 consecutive patients with HCC who had been treated with curative intent by radiofrequency ablation (RFA) as an initial therapy from 1999 to 2008 at our department. We analyzed the incidence rate of and predictive factors for vascular invasion. The survival rate after detection of vascular invasion was also analyzed.</p><p>Results</p><p>During a mean follow-up period of 4.5 years, 6075 nodules including primary and recurrent lesions were treated by RFA. Vascular invasion was observed in 97 patients. The rate of vascular invasion associated with site of original RFA procedure was 0.66% on a nodule basis. The incidence rates of vascular invasion on a patient basis at 1, 3, and 5 years were 1.1%, 5.9%, and 10.4%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that tumor size, tumor number, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP), and Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of alpha-fetoprotein were significant risk predictors of vascular invasion. In multivariate analysis, DCP was the most significant predictor for vascular invasion (compared with a DCP of ≤100 mAu/mL, the hazard ratio was 1.95 when DCP was 101–200 mAu/mL and 3.22 when DCP was >200 mAu/mL). The median survival time after development of vascular invasion was only 6 months.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Vascular invasion occurs during the clinical course of patients initially treated with curative intent. High-risk patients may be identified using tumor markers.</p></div

The estimated hazard function over time according to the mode of recurrence.

<p>The estimated hazard function over time according to the mode of recurrence.</p

Serum levels of ferritin according to pathological findings.

<p>(A) According to pathological hepatic iron accumulation socore, (B) stage of fibrosis, and (C) grade of necroinflammatory activity in METAVIR system.</p

Serum levels of ferritin do not affect the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation

<div><p>Background & aims</p><p>Hepatic iron accumulation can accelerate liver injury in patients with various chronic liver diseases and lead to hepatocarcinogenesis. We elucidated the impact of serum levels of ferritin on the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in a large cohort.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We retrospectively analyzed 578 treatment-naïve HCC patients who underwent RFA. We divided our cohort into four groups by the quartile points of serum ferritin level: G1 (≤55 ng/mL, n = 148), G2 (56–130 ng/mL, n = 142), G3 (131–243 ng/mL, n = 144) and G4 (≥244 ng/mL, n = 144). We analyzed the recurrence and survival of patients using the Kaplan–Meier method. We also evaluated pathological iron deposition among patients with a solitary tumor smaller than 2 cm.</p><p>Results</p><p>The cumulative rates of overall recurrence and survival at 5 years were 81.6% and 66.3%, respectively. The serum levels of ferritin were correlated with pathological iron deposition. There were no significant differences in recurrence and survival rates according to serum levels of ferritin and pathological hepatic iron deposition.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Serum levels of ferritin do not affect the prognosis of HCC patients undergoing RFA.</p></div