Biomaterial Database

Clinical Significance of Serum Antithrombin III Activity After Hepatectomy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. 2021

Naruo Tokuyasu, and Masataka Amisaki, and Takehiko Hanaki, and Yuki Murakami, and Masaki Morimoto, and Ei Uchinaka, and Takuki Yagyu, and Keisuke Goto, and Tomoyuki Matsunaga, and Manabu Yamamoto, and Shuichi Takano, and Teruhisa Sakamoto, and Soichiro Honjo, and Toshimichi Hasegawa, and Yoshiyuki Fujiwara

Division of Gastrointestinal and Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago 683-8504, Japan.

BACKGROUND As antithrombin III (AT-III) is produced in the hepatocytes, its serum activity decreases at the time of liver failure, in addition to ischemia reperfusion injury, vascular endothelial dysfunction, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Here, we examined whether the serum AT-III value after hepatectomy could be a prognostic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS Of 141 patients who underwent hepatectomy for HCC, data for 101 patients in whom serum AT-III activity was measured on the first postoperative day were extracted. Patients with serum AT-III activity > 50% and ≤ 50% were assigned to high value (72 cases) and low value (29 cases) groups, respectively. We examined the clinical and prognostic differences between these two groups. RESULTS The average age of enrolled patients (83 men and 18 women) was 68.0 years. The 5-year overall survival rate was 88% and 60% in the high and low value groups, respectively (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the 2-year relapse-free survival rate was 71% and 54% in the high and low value groups, respectively (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to demonstrate that serum AT-III levels on the first postoperative day may serve as a prognostic factor in HCC patients.