Background The detection rate of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) very-early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing because of advances in surveillance and improved imaging technologies for high-risk populations. Surgical resection (SR) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are both first‐line treatments for very-early-stage HCC, but the differences in clinical outcomes between patients treated with SR and RFA remain unclear. This study investigated the prognosis of SR and RFA for very-early‐stage HCC patients with long‐term follow‐up. Methods This study was retrospectively collected data on the clinicopathological characteristics, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) of 188 very-early-stage HCC patients (≤ 2 cm single HCC). OS and DFS were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed. Results Of the 188 HCC patients, 103 received SR and 85 received RFA. The median follow‐up time was 56 months. The SR group had significantly higher OS than the RFA group (10-year cumulative OS: 55.2% and 31.3% in the SR and RFA groups, respectively). No statistically significant difference was observed in DFS between the SR and RFA groups (10-year cumulative DFS: 45.9% and 32.6% in the SR and RFA groups, respectively). After PSM, the OS in the SR group remained significantly higher than that in the RFA group (10-year cumulative OS: 54.7% and 42.2% in the SR and RFA groups, respectively). No significant difference was observed in DFS between the SR and RFA groups (10-year cumulative DFS: 43.0% and 35.4% in the SR and RFA groups, respectively). Furthermore, in the multivariate Cox regression analysis, treatment type (hazard ratio (HR): 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31–0.95; P = 0.032) and total bilirubin (HR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.09–3.41; P = 0.025) were highly associated with OS. In addition, age (HR: 2.14, 95% CI: 1.36–3.36; P = 0.001) and cirrhosis (HR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.11–2.89; P = 0.018) were strongly associated with DFS. Conclusion For patients with very-early-stage HCC, SR was associated with significantly higher OS rates than RFA. However, no significant difference was observed in DFS between the SR and RFA groups.

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Background Identifying prognostic factors and therapeutic strategies for single large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is crucial. This retrospective study investigated prognostic factors in patients with single large HCC (≥5 cm) and Child–Pugh (CP) class A liver disease and recommended therapeutic strategies. Methods In total, 305 patients with single large HCC and CP class A liver disease but without distant metastasis or macrovascular invasion were included. Their clinicopathological data, overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) were recorded. OS and PFS rates were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis. Results In this study, 77.8% of the patients were men; the median age was 63 years. Approximately 34.1% of the patients had cirrhosis and 89.6% had CP class A5 disease. The most common initial treatment was resection (49.5%), followed by transarterial chemoembolization (TACE; 48.2%). OS and PFS rates 1, 5, and 10 years after initial treatment were 88.6%, 58.0%, and 46.8% and 73.6%, 48.2%, and 31.3%, respectively. OS and PRS rates were significantly higher in patients receiving surgical resection than in those receiving TACE. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year OS rates were 94.6%, 76.7%, and 66.7% after resection and 83.1%, 39.0%, and 26.6% after TACE. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year PRS rates were 82.5%, 55.7%, and 51.0% after resection and 64.3%, 40.5%, and 22.7% after TACE. In multivariate analysis, CP class A5/6 (A5 vs. A6; hazard ratio [HR]: 0.23; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.15–0.38, P < 0.001) and initial treatment (resection vs. TACE; HR: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.15–0.36, P < 0.001; resection vs. other treatments; HR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.17–0.65, P = 0.016) were significantly associated with OS. In addition, CP class A5/6 (A5 vs. A6; HR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.18–0.56, P < 0.001) and initial treatment (resection vs. TACE; HR: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.16–0.51, P < 0.001; resection vs. other treatments; HR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.26–0.81, P = 0.042) were significantly associated with PFS. Conclusion Surgical resection achieved significantly higher OS and PRS rates than TACE. Surgical resection is an effective and safe therapy for single large HCC.