Horizons in TransplantationLiver transplantationHealth-Related Quality of Life and Psychological Distress in Patients With Early-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Hepatic Resection or Transplantation

•The demographics of the patients in the 2 groups were similar, and there were no significant differences, except for higher family income in the transplantation group (P = .002).•With long-term follow-up, there were no significant differences in the 8 domains of the HRQOL and the 9 domains of the psychological outcome measure between the 2 groups.•Both the transplantation and resection groups exhibited good outcomes in both HRQOL and psychological outcome measures.

BackgroundThe aim of our study was to compare the post-operative health-related quality of life in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; within the Milan criteria) after liver resection or liver transplantation.MethodsFrom August 2000 to December 2010, 207 patients were diagnosed with early HCC within the Milan criteria. We divided these patients into 2 groups according to their curative schedule: the liver transplantation group (n = 95) and the liver resection group (n = 110). We compared the baseline characteristics of these 2 groups of patients, after which we focused on comparing the post-operative health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and psychological outcome in these 2 groups.ResultsThe demographics of the patients in the 2 groups were similar, and there were no significant differences except for higher family income in the transplantation group (P = .002).With long-term follow-up, there were no significant differences in the 8 domains of the HRQOL and the 9 domains of the psychological outcome measure between the 2 groups. Both the transplantation and resection groups exhibited good outcomes in both HRQOL and psychological outcome measures.ConclusionsSeveral years after operation, early-stage HCC patients who underwent liver transplantation or resection had similar long-term HRQOL and psychological outcomes.