Risk factors associated with late hepatocellular carcinoma detection in patients undergoing regular surveillance.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a very poor prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of < 20%; hence, early diagnosis is crucial. Despite regular checkups for high-risk groups of HCC, there are a few cases in which it is discovered as a late-stage HCC. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the characteristics of patients with delayed HCC detection during regular surveillance. Between January 2010 and December 2020, we analyzed patients with newly diagnosed HCCs who underwent HCC surveillance by ultrasound or computed tomography scan at least twice and were followed up for more than 1 year for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and chronic liver disease. The mean age of 223 HCC patients was 70 years, of which 152 were male, accounting for 68.1%. Among them, 196 patients (87%) were diagnosed with Barcelona clinic liver cancer stage 0 or A, while 27 (13%) were diagnosed with Barcelona clinic liver cancer stages B and C. When classified according to the TNM criteria, 154 patients (69%) were in stage I, and 69 (31%) were in stage II or higher. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for patients diagnosed with late-stage HCC. The Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score was identified as a highly significant factor (P = .002, HR 1.547, 95% CI 1.177-2.032), whereas the presence of cirrhosis, body mass index, and sex had no significant effect. We found that in patients with chronic liver disease who were screened regularly, those with higher CTP scores were more likely to be diagnosed with HCC in the late-stages. Therefore, although the presence of cirrhosis is also important for HCC surveillance, careful attention is needed in patients with high CTP scores.

The safety of cesarean myomectomy in women with large myomas.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety of cesarean myomectomy in large myomas sized >5 cm. METHODS: One hundred sixty-five pregnant women with myomas who delivered via cesarean section were identified. Ninety-six women had cesarean section without myomectomy, and 65 women underwent cesarean myomectomy. We compared the maternal characteristics, neonatal weight, myoma types, and operative outcomes between two groups. We further analyzed cesarean myomectomy group according to myoma size. The large myoma was defined as myoma >5 cm in size. The maternal characteristics, neonatal weight, and myoma types were compared between two groups. We also compared the operative outcomes such as preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin, operative time, and hospitalized days between two groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the maternal characteristics, myoma types, neonatal weight and operative outcomes between cesarean section without myomectomy and cesarean myomectomy. The subgroup analysis according to myoma size (>5 cm or not) in cesarean myomectomy group revealed that there were no significant differences in the mean hemoglobin change (1.2 vs. 1.3 mg/dL, P=0.6), operative time (90.5 vs. 93.1 minutes, P=0.46), and the length of hospital stay (4.7 vs. 5.2 days, P=0.15) between two groups. The comparison of maternal characteristics, neonatal weight, and myoma types between two groups also showed no statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Cesarean myomectomy in patients with large myomas is a safe and effective procedure.