The role of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in the treatment of spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous tumor rupture is a distinctive disease pattern in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The application of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (srHCC) is debatable. Our study aimed to compare the long-term outcomes of srHCC vs. nrHCC and to test the role of postoperative HIPEC in patients with srHCC after hepatectomy. METHODS: From 2014 to 2018, PSM was performed to compare 57 patients who performed liver resection for srHCC and met the research criteria with 57 nrHCC patients selected from 446 consecutive patients. Then patients with srHCC were divided into two groups according to whether they underwent HIPEC after hepatectomy. RESULTS: After 1:1 PSM, the clinical characteristics of the patients with srHCC and nrHCC were comparable. In terms of long-term outcomes, the nrHCC group had significantly longer OS (P=0.026) and DFS (P<0.001) than the srHCC group. Of the 57 srHCC patients, the HIPEC group showed added complications compared to the non-HIPEC group, including an increased length of hospital stay and higher in-hospital costs. However, there were no significant differences in the metastatic patterns of these recurrent patients, and there was no statistically significant difference in DFS (P=0.28) or OS (P=0.56) between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of ruptured HCC patients were worse than those of non-ruptured HCC patients. HIPEC may not be a robust treatment for srHCC now.