Analysis of clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic survival factors of primary hepatic carcinoma after hepatic resection in young patients

Objective: To analyze the clinicopathological characteristics and the prognostic survival factors of young patients who have undergone hepatectomy for primary hepatic carcinoma. Methods: Clinicopathological data and treatment outcomes in 79 young (≤40 years old) and 67 elderly (≥65 years old) patients who underwent hepatectomy for primary hepatic carcinoma between 2008 and 2012 were retrospectively collected and compared using various parameters. Then the survival rate and prognostic factors of the younger patients were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and COX multivariate proportional hazards model. Results: The positive rate of HBs-antigen and alpha-fetoprotein level were significantly higher in the younger patients than in the elderly patients (P<0.05). However, the positive rate of Anti-HCV-Ab was markedly lower in the younger patients (P<0.05). The two groups did not significantly differ in gender, clinical symptoms, intraoperative parameters or pathological features (P>0.05). The overall survival rate was similar between the two groups. COX multivariate proportional hazards model analysis showed that the independent prognostic factors of overall survival were pre-operative albumin level <35 g/L and maximum tumor diameter ≥5 cm. Conclusion: Hepatectomy is a safe and feasible treatment for young and elderly patients with primary hepatic carcinoma. The independent prognostic factors of survival for young patients are pre-operative albumin level <35 g/L and the maximum tumor diameter ≥5 cm.