Local recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after percutaneous ethanol injection

BACKGROUND. Percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) therapy is now widely used for small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). However, only limited information is available regarding local tumor recurrence after PEI treatment. METHODS. We investigated the relationship of pretreatment clinicopathologic variables (tumor size, tumor cell differentiation and tumor staining) to local recurrence in 170 PEI-treated HCC nodules (measuring 5-39 mm in greatest dimension) in 84 patients. RESULTS. Local recurrence was observed in 17 of 170 PEt-treated nodules. Among these, 13 local recurrences were observed as the first event of progression after PEI. Local recurrence rates at 1, 2, and 4 years were 6.6%, 14.2%, and 14.2%, respectively, and all recurrences were observed within 2 years after PEI. Of the 3 variables investigated, large tumor size (31 mm or larger in greatest dimension) was significantly associated with a higher local recurrence rate. CONCLUSIONS. This study demonstrated that tumor size influences the local efficacy of PEI for small HCC. Therefore, we recommend that a reasonable indication for PEI therapy is HCC lesions measuring less than 30 mm in greatest dimension.