The predictive value of vessels encapsulating tumor clusters in treatment optimization for recurrent early‐stage hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The predictive value of vessels encapsulating tumor clusters (VETC) in recurrent early‐stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic significance of VETC in patients with recurrent early‐stage HCC after repeat hepatic resection (RHR) or radiofrequency ablation (RFA). METHODS: From December 2005 to December 2016, 138 patients receiving RHR and 188 patients receiving RFA were recruited. VETC was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining for CD34. The survival outcomes of patients with VETC pattern or not were investigated. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the RHR and RFA groups in disease‐free survival (DFS) or overall survival (OS) as determined by the univariate analysis of the whole cohort. In the subgroup analysis of the VETC‐positive cohort, the patients in the RHR group showed a longer median DFS time in contrast to those in the RFA group (15.0 vs. 5.0 months, p = 0.001). Similarly, the patients in the RHR group showed a longer median OS time in contrast to those in the RFA group (39.5 vs. 19 months, p = 0.001). In the VETC‐negative cohort, no significant differences in DFS and OS rates between the RHR and RFA groups were observed (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study suggested that RHR was relatively safe and superior to RFA in improving survival outcomes for recurrent early‐stage HCC after initial hepatectomy. Furthermore, the VETC pattern may represent a reliable marker for selecting HCC patients who may benefit from RHR.