Abstract
Background: The survival benefits of radical treatment (resection or radiofrequency ablation) combined with splenectomy for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with liver-cirrhosis-associated portal hypertension (PH) remain to be clarified. Methods: 96 patients undertaking HCC radical treatment combined with splenectomy (HS group) were retrospectively analyzed, 48 of whom belonged to HCC stage T1 (HSS group). Another 42 patients at stage T1 with PH who received hepatectomy (or radiofrequency ablation) alone (HA group) during the same period served as the control group. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared at each time point between the HSS and HA group. The risk factors affecting early RFS and OS were confirmed through COX multivariate analysis. Results: The median RFS was 22.3 months and the mean median OS was 46 months in the HS group. As such, 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, and 5-year RFS rates in the HSS and HA group were 95% and 81% (p = 0.041), 81% and 67% (p = 0.05), 64% and 62% (p = 1.00), and 29% and 45% (p = 0.10), respectively. Further, 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year OS rates in the HSS and HA group were 98% and 98% (p = 1.00), 79% and 88% (p = 0.50), and 60% and 64% (p = 0.61), respectively. Cox multivariate analysis showed that preoperative irregular anti-viral therapy, Child-Pugh grade B liver function, vascular invasion, and microvascular invasion (MVI) were independent risk factors for early postoperative RFS (within 2 years), and preoperative irregular anti-viral therapy and vascular invasion were independent risk factors for 5-year OS. Conclusions: Radical treatment of HCC combined with synchronous splenectomy, especially applicable to patients with Child-Pugh grade A liver function, can significantly improve early postoperative RFS in patients with stage T1 HCC and liver-cirrhosis-associated portal hypertension, but fail to improve OS.