The prognosis in cases of hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy: young patients versus older patients

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is uncommon in young adults and the prognosis of these patients is still unclear. In this retrospective study, we compared the clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of young patients with HCC with those of older patients with HCC. We retrospectively reviewed the clinicopathological characteristics of a total of 1,124 patients with HCC who underwent hepatectomy at our institution between 2006 and 2010. Patients ≤40 years of age at the time of HCC diagnosis were classified in the younger group. One hundred and three patients (9.2%) were classified in the younger group. whereas, 1021 patients were classified in the older group. The incidences of hepatitis B virus infection, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, and indocyanine green retention test were all higher in younger patients than in older patients (p