Does microvascular invasion in Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage A multinodular hepatocellular carcinoma indicate early-stage behavior?

Abstract

To identify the impact of tumor number on Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the impact of microvascular invasion (MVI) on multinodular HCC (MHCC). We retrospectively analyzed 1,548 patients who had early-stage HCC [solitary HCC (SHCC, n=1,481) and MHCC (n=67)], according to the BCLC classification, after curative resection. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance potential confounding factors. Both before and after PSM, significant differences were noted between the MHCC group and the SHCC group in RFS but not in OS. For the PSM cohort, the 5-year RFS rates were 7.5% and 41.2% for the MVI-positive MHCC group and the SHCC group, respectively (P<0.001). The 5-year OS rates were 48.9% and 75.2% for the MVI-positive MHCC group and the SHCC group, respectively (P=0.017). The RFS and OS were not significantly different between the MVI-negative MHCC group and the SHCC group. MVI (P=0.029) and multiple nodules (P=0.029) were associated with early recurrence. The presence of MVI in BCLC early-stage MHCC was highly suggestive of a poor prognosis and should not be classified as early-stage biological behavior.