Onodera's prognostic nutritional index is a strong prognostic indicator for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after initial hepatectomy, especially patients with preserved liver function

Several inflammation-based scores are used to assess the surgical outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the present study was to elucidate the prognostic value of the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy with special attention to preoperative liver functional reserve. Preoperative demographic and tumor-related factors were analyzed in 189 patients with HCC undergoing initial hepatectomy from August 2005 to May 2016 to identify significant prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis for overall survival (OS) revealed that female sex (p = 0.005), tumor size (p