-Original-

Evaluation of the Impact of Preoperative Values of Hyaluronic Acid and Type IV Collagen on the Outcome of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Hepatectomy

Junji Ueda^1,2, Hiroshi Yoshida¹, Yasuhiro Mamada¹, Nobuhiko Taniai¹, Masato Yoshioka¹, Atsushi Hirakata², Youichi Kawano¹, Tetsuya Shimizu¹, Tomohiro Kanda¹, Hideyuki Takata² and Eiji Uchida¹

¹Department of Gastrointestinal Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
²Department of Surgery, Nippon Medical School Tama Nagayama Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

Background: Recently, some reports have revealed a relationship between post-hepatectomy prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and hepatic fibrosis markers. We evaluated the relationship between these markers of hepatic fibrosis, clinicopathological findings, and prognosis.
Methods: Three hundred and sixty patients underwent hepatectomy for HCC in the Nippon Medical School Hospital between 1993 and 2013. We divided these patients into two groups: normal serum hyaluronic acid (HA) levels and abnormal levels. We also divided patients into groups with normal serum type IV collagen levels and abnormal levels.
Results: The overall survival rate and recurrence-free survival rate of the normal group were significantly higher than those of the abnormal group. In the normal hyaluronic acid group, serum albumin and prothrombin time were significantly higher than in the abnormal group, and age, hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV)-Ab positivity, Child-Pugh grade B, liver cirrhosis, indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min (ICGR15), type IV collagen level, and type IV collagen 7s level were significantly lower than those in the abnormal group. In the normal type IV collagen group, HCV-Ab positivity, liver cirrhosis, ICGR15, HA level, and type IV collagen 7s level were significantly lower than those in the abnormal group, and the serum albumin level was significantly higher than that in the abnormal group. Multivariate analysis independently revealed the significant effect of serum type IV collagen on the overall survival rate as well as the significant effect of serum HA on the recurrence-free survival rate in patients who underwent hepatectomy for HCC.
Conclusions: Preoperative examinations of serum hyaluronic acid levels and type IV collagen levels are imperative for hepatic resection for HCC because these markers are significantly associated with liver function and prognosis.

J Nippon Med Sch 2018; 85: 221-227

Keywords
hyaluronic acid, type IV collagen, hepatocellular carcinoma, liver cirrhosis

Correspondence to
Junji Ueda, MD, PhD, Department of Surgery, Nippon Medical School Tama Nagayama Hospital, 1-7-1 Nagayama, Tama, Tokyo 206-8512, Japan
junji0821@nms.ac.jp

Received, December 26, 2017
Accepted, March 6, 2018