Long-Term Outcomes of Anatomic Versus Nonanatomic Resection in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with Bile Duct Tumor Thrombus: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

Anatomic resection (AR) of the liver is generally recommended in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. However, the benefits of AR and nonanatomic resection (NAR) in HCC patients with bile duct tumor thrombus (BDTT) are unknown. This study aimed to compare long-term outcomes of AR and NAR in HCC patients with BDTT after curative resection. A total of 175 consecutive HCC patients with BDTT after curative resection between April 2009 and December 2017 were included. One-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to minimize the influence of potential confounders. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between the cohorts. After PSM, 120 patients were analyzed. The AR group had better RFS than the NAR group (P = 0.010). Even though there was no statistically significant difference in OS (P = 0.140, power = 0.33), the 3- and 5-year OS rates in the AR group (52.4% and 44.2%, respectively) were obviously higher than those in the NAR group (35.4% and 30.4%, respectively). When patients were further stratified according to tumor size, better RFS and OS were observed in patients with small (≤ 5 cm) tumors after AR (P < 0.001 and P = 0.004, respectively). Multivariate analysis identified AR (P = 0.024) as an independent favorable prognostic factor for RFS in HCC patients with BDTT. AR is recommended for HCC patients with BDTT, especially in patients with small (≤ 5 cm) tumors.