Outcomes of Pure Laparoscopic versus Open Hepatic Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Cirrhotic Patients: A Case-Control Study with Propensity Score Matching

Laparoscopic hepatic resection (LH) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has gradually gained ground as a safe and minimally invasive treatment, although LH for cirrhotic patients remains challenging.Between January 2007 and August 2014, 28 and 57 patients with histologically proven cirrhosis (histological activity index, fibrosis score 4) underwent pure LH and open hepatic resection (OH; less than segmentectomy), respectively, for peripheral HCC ≤5 cm. To correct the difference in clinicopathological factors, including difficulty scores, between the two groups, propensity score matching was used at a 1:1 ratio, which resulted in a comparison of 20 patients per group. We compared the short- and long-term outcomes of LH and OH to investigate the efficacy of LH.Clinicopathological variables, including difficulty scores, were well balanced between the two groups. The incidence of complications and mean intraoperative blood loss were lower in the LH group than the OH group (0 vs. 45% and 180 vs. 440 ml, p = 0.001 and 0.04, respectively). The 3-year disease-free survival rate was 42% in the LH group and 30% in the OH group (p = 0.533), whereas the 5-year overall survival rates were 46 and 60%, respectively (p = 0.606).LH is a safe and effective treatment option for cirrhotic patients with HCC in terms of intraoperative blood loss and morbidity.