Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Long-Term Prognosis of Scirrhous Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Clinicopathologic features and long-term outcomes in patients with scirrhous hepatocellular carcinoma (S-HCC) are not fully defined. We compared data of 37 patients with S-HCC and 604 with usual HCC (U-HCC) undergoing surgery. The S-HCC group showed less HBV infection (78.4 vs. 92.0%, P = 0.02), low serum AFP level (2320 +/- A 6356 vs. 3297 +/- A 18690 ng/ml, P < 0.0001), less delayed washout during CT (72.7 vs. 90.7%, P = 0.004), and low usefulness of clinical diagnostic criteria (32.4 vs. 57.5%, P = 0.003), compared to the U-HCC group. More portal vein invasion (18.9 vs. 4.1%, P = 0.03) and less liver cirrhosis (35.1 vs. 65.1%, P = 0.001) and fibrous capsule (40.5 vs. 81.6%, P < 0.001) were noted in the S-HCC group than the U-HCC group. Long-term survival rates were similar between the S-HCC and U-HCC groups, even with subgroup analysis according to Child-Pugh score and modified UICC stage. The S-HCC group showed distinct patient and tumor characteristics but similar long-term outcome.