Questionnaire survey of Japanese board‐certified expert hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeons and instructors on the surgical indications for hepatocellular carcinoma
Keiichi Akahoshi, Junichi Shindoh, Minoru Tanabe, Shuichi Watanabe, Hayato Takamizawa, Susumu Eguchi, Itaru Endo, Shoji Kubo, Akinobu Taketomi, Hiroaki Nagano, Masafumi Nakamura, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, Etsuro Hatano, Tomoharu Yoshizumi, Norihiro Kokudo
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Recent advancements in systemic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) necessitate the establishment of resectability criteria for advanced HCC. METHODS: A questionnaire survey sought to clarify the perspectives of Japanese expert hepatobiliary surgeons regarding surgical indications for HCC. Thirty-one questions were used to determine when surgery is strongly recommended (resectable: R) or not recommended (unresectable: UR). RESULTS: A total of 351 responses were obtained. While 64.7% of the respondents considered solitary tumors as being R, irrespective of size, opinions diverged on the upper limit of the number of tumors/tumor size for R: (1) up to three nodules with no size limit (27.9%), (2) up to three nodules ≤5 cm in diameter each (21.4%) and (3) up to three nodules ≤3 cm in diameter each (19.4%). Vp1, Vp2, Vp3, and Vp4 were considered as being R by 90.9%, 70.7%, 39.0%, and 8.0% of respondents, respectively. Half of the respondents indicated they would consider resection even for cases with extrahepatic spread under limited conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The current views of Japanese expert surgeons on the resectability criteria for HCC were clarified for the first time. The findings could serve as a basis for preparing expert consensus statements on the resectability criteria for HCC.