ObjectiveTo summarize the complete response (CR, which referred to the imaging level) achieved by conversion therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the current researches, and explore the further therapy strategies and outcomes for patients acquired CR. MethodThe domestic and foreign literature on the research of CR achieved by conversion therapy for HCC was reviewed and summarized. ResultsWith the great progress of conversion therapy such as local therapy, systemic therapy, and local therapy in combination with systemic therapy for HCC, the proportion of the CR was increasing after conversion therapy. For the patients who achieved CR after conversion therapy, the surgical resection, liver transplantation, follow-up observation, etc. could be selected and showed a survival benefit. Conclusions From the opinion summarized in this review, with the development of targeted therapy and immunotherapy, as well as the new anti-tumor drugs, a growing number of conversion therapeutic schedules could be provided, CR rate was increasing. At present, for patients who have achieved CR after conversion therapy, surgical or non-surgical treatment can be chosen. However, there is no authoritative conclusion on which therapy method can benefit patients more. The current strategy is to perform personalized treatment plan based on the individual situation of patient, in order to achieve better survival benefit for patient.
ObjectiveTo discuss the relation between postoperative prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and serious complications (Clavien-Dindo complications classification Ⅲ to Ⅴ) after hepatectomy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MethodsAccording to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy in the Sichuan Cancer Hospital from January 2009 to January 2016 were retrospectively collected. The predictive ability of postoperative PNI for postoperative complications was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the optimal cutoff value was determined. At the same time, the related factors affecting the severe complications and overall survival after hepatectomy in the HCC patients were analyzed by non-conditional logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, respectively. ResultsA total of 779 patients were enrolled, and the postoperative complications occurred in 238 (30.6%) cases, including 68 (8.7%) cases of serious complications. The postoperative PNI of all patients was 35.8±4.9, the ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve of postoperative PNI for predicting postoperative severe complications was 0.735, the optimal cutoff value was 35.7, and the sensitivity and specificity were 0.868 and 0.518, respectively. The patients were classified as a lower postoperative PNI (≤35.7, 397 patients) and higher postoperative PNI (>35.7, 382 patients) based on the optimal cutoff value. Compared with patients with higher postoperative PNI, the patients with lower postoperative PNI had later stage of tumor (P<0.001) , worse liver function (P<0.05), and larger volume of excised liver (P<0.001), more blood loss (P<0.001), and higher proportion of intraoperative blood transfusion (P<0.001), higher serious complication (P<0.001) and mortality (P=0.039). The multivariate logistic regression analysis found that the preoperative Child-Pugh score grade B, American Society of Anesthesiologists grade Ⅲ–Ⅳ, intraoperation blood transfusion, preoperative decreased platelet level, and lower postoperative PNI increased the probability of postoperative serious complications in the HCC patients (P<0.05). The overall survival of HCC patients with higher postoperative PNI was better than that of patients with lower postoperative PNI (P=0.007), but there was no statistical difference in tumor-free survival between the two (P=0.073), and it was not fount that the postoperative PNI was associated with the overall survival of HCC patients underwent hepatectomy by the Cox proportional hazards regression multivariate analysis (P=0.276). ConclusionsThe optimal cutoff value of postoperative PNI for predicting postoperative serous complications determined in this study is 35.7, which has a higher predictive value. Patients with higher postoperative PNI and lower postoperative PNI in incidence of postoperative serious complications are obviously different, patients with higher postoperative PNI has a better overall survival than those with lower postoperative PNI.