Effective therapeutic options for elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: A nationwide cohort study

Abstract

We evaluated the post-treatment overall survival (OS) of elderly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.The archived records of 10,578 HCC patients registered at the Korean Central Cancer Registry from 2008 through 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. In this registry, we selected Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) 0, A, or B staged HCC patients (n = 4744) treated by surgical resection (SR), local ablation therapy (LAT), or locoregional therapy (LRT). OSs in nonelderly (<70 years) and elderly (≥70 years) patients were compared after propensity score matching (PSM).In BCLC 0-A staged HCC, the cumulative OS rates of elderly patients were poorer than those of nonelderly patients after PSM (P < .001), but not in those with BCLC stage B (P > .05). In BCLC 0-A staged elderly patients, OS after SR was significantly better than after LAT (P = .005) or LRT (P < .001). In BCLC B staged elderly patients, SR achieved better OS than LRT (P = .006). Multivariable analysis showed that LAT (hazard ratio [HR] 1.52, P = .048) or LRT (HR, 2.01, P < .001) as compared with SR, and large (>3 cm) tumor size (HR1.49, P = .018) were poor predictors of OS for elderly patients with BCLC stage 0-A, and that LRT (HR, 2.64, P = .042) was a poor predictor for those with BCLC stage B.SR provided a better OS rate than LAT or LRT in elderly HCC patients with BCLC stage 0-A, than LRT in those with BCLC stage B. SR should be considered the first therapeutic option even in elderly HCC patients with these stages.

Figure 1

Flowsheet of enrolled all patients (n = 4744). BCLC = , HCC = , KCC = , LT = .

Figure 2

Cumulative overall survival rates of patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages 0–A and B according to patient age. (A) and (C) Showed cumulative OS rates of patients with BCLC stage 0–A before (n = 3910) and after (n = 1210) propensity score matching (PSM), respectively. (B) and (D) Showed cumulative OS rates of patients with BCLC stage B before (n = 834) and after (n = 272) PSM, respectively.

Figure 3

Cumulative overall survival rates of patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0–A with a tumor size of ≤3 cm or >3 cm according to age and treatment type. (A) and (D) Showed overall survival (OS) in patients with BCLC stage 0–A before (n = 3910) and after (n = 1210) propensity score matching (PSM), respectively. (B) and (E) Showed OS in patients with BCLC 0–A staged hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) of ≤3 cm in tumor size before (n = 2825) and after PSM (n = 826), respectively. (C) and (F) Showed OS in patients with BCLC 0–A staged HCC of >3 cm in tumor size before (n = 1085) and after PSM (n = 384), respectively. LAT = local ablation therapy, LRT = locoregional therapy, SR = surgical resection.

Figure 4

Cumulative overall survival rates of patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages 0, A, and B according to age and treatment type after propensity score matching. (A) and (B) Showed overall survival (OS) of patients with BCLC stage 0 (n = 156) and A (n = 1054), respectively. (C) and (D) Showed OS of patients with BCLC A staged solitary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with ≤3 cm in tumor size (n = 491) and with >3 cm in tumor size (n = 384), respectively. (E) Showed OS of patients with BCLC A staged multiple HCCs (n = 179) and (F) showed OS in patients with BCLC stage B (n = 272). LAT = local ablation therapy, LRT = locoregional therapy, SR = surgical resection.