Hepatectomy for patients with alveolar echinococcosis: Long-term follow-up observations of 144 cases.

BACKGROUND: Western China is a region in which alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is endemic. Few studies and comparisons have evaluated the outcomes of AE patients after hepatectomy, and no strategy has been defined for the treatment of AE patients with unresectable tumors. This study sought to assess the outcomes of AE patients after hepatectomy at a tertiary referral center.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from 144 patients with hepatic AE who were treated via hepatectomy at our center between January 2004 and December 2015. Patients' overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and risk factors were analyzed, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were constructed. Patient age, year of initial treatment, PNM stage, and risk factors were entered as co-variates in a Cox regression modle that was used for analysis.

RESULTS: Hepatectomy was performed in 144 patients diagnosed with hepatic AE (84 complete resections and 60 reduction surgeries). In the complete resection group, the 5- and 10-year OS rates were both 97.6%, and the 5- and 10-year PFS rates were both 97.9%. In the reduction surgery group, the 5-, and 10-year OS rates were 89.7% and 73.4%, respectively, and the 5-, and 10-year PFS rates were 78.1% and 69.5%, respectively. Patients in the complete group had better OS prognoses and PFS than patients in the reduction surgery group (P = 0.018 and P = 0.001). Multivariate analysis indicated that curability and portal vein invasion are independent factors associated with PFS (P = 0.028 and P = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS: The most effective therapy for AE is complete resection. Reduction surgery does not appear to offer obvious advantages over benzimidazole therapy alone in the treatment of AE. Curability and portal vein invasion are independent prognostic factors for PFS in a multivariate analysis.