Impact of bile leak on the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have undergone liver resection

Purpose The impact of postoperative bile leak on the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver resection is controversial. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic impact of bile leak for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver resection. Methods Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent liver resection between 2009 and 2019 at Kobe University Hospital and Hyogo Cancer Center were included. After propensity score matching between the bile leak and no bile leak groups, differences in 5-year recurrence-free and overall survival rates were evaluated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results A total of 781 patients, including 43 with postoperative bile leak, were analyzed. In the matched cohort, 40 patients were included in each group. The 5-year recurrence-free survival rates after liver resection were 35% and 32% for the bile leak and no bile leak groups, respectively ( P = 0.857). The 5-year overall survival rates were 44% and 54% for the bile leak and no bile leak groups, respectively ( P = 0.216). Conclusion Overall, bile leak may not have a profound negative impact on the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have undergone liver resection.