Minimally invasive versus open liver resection for nonmetastatic hepatocellular carcinoma staged BCLC – B and – C: an Italian multicentric analysis

Background: Recent papers report significant survival gain after liver resection in BCLC-B and -C HCC patients. The results of minimally invasive liver surgery (MILS) in such patients have not been widely investigated so far. Methods: Data regarding patients undergoing MILS or open liver resection (OLR) for HCC staged BCLC -B and -C were extracted from the HERCOLES database. An inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method was adopted to balance the confounders. The primary outcome was a composite endpoint including post-hepatectomy liver failure, severe postoperative complications and in-hospital mortality. Results: 627 patients were included (459 undergoing OLR and 168 receiving MILS). After IPTW, no difference was found in the composite endpoint between MILS and OLR (OR 0.86 [95%CI 0.46-1-60]; p = 0.62). MILS reduced the risk of receiving intra-operative transfusions (OR 0.28 [95%CI 0.13-0.58]; p < 0.001) and of developing postoperative ascites (OR 0.56 [95%CI 0,32-0,98]; p = 0.039), with reduced length of stay (OR 0.82 [95%CI 0.66-1.01]; p = 0.045). The survival analysis showed no differences between MILS and OLR for both OS (p = 0.13) and DFS (p = 0.491). Conclusion: MILS was shown to be safe and feasible for selected non-metastatic HCC patients staged BCLC B and C, reducing the risk of perioperative transfusions and postoperative ascites, and shortening the length of stay.