We analyzed the clinical characteristics and survival of 185 patients with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV group) and 1033 with hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCV group) by multi center study. The patients in the HBV group (mean age 52.1 yr) were about 10 years younger than those in the HCV group (mean age 62.9 yr). Liver function, as measured by indocyanine green retention at 15 min, was better in the HBV group (17.5%) than in the HCV group (25.4%). A higher proportion of the HBV group (55%) than the HCV group (44%) had clinical stage I, T-factor differed significantly between the groups: 53% of the HBV group were T3-4 compared with 41% of the HCV group. Furthermore, a higher proportion of the HBV group were graded 2-3 for tumor thrombus in the portal vein (20.3%) and had poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (7%) compared with the HCV group (7.1% and 5% respectively). Univariate analysis identified poor prognostic factors for hepatocellular carcinoma as HBV, age < or = 50 yr, clinical stage II-III, a high AFP level, higher number of tumors, larger tumor size, tumor thrombus in the portal vein 2-3 and in the hepatic vein 2-3. On multivariate analysis, poor prognostic factors were a high AFP level, higher number of tumors, tumor thrombus in the portal vein 2-3 and in the hepatic vein 2-3, but not HBV, age, clinical stage or tumor size. These results suggest that HBV itself is not a stronger prognostic factor than HCV.

Dual-phase 3D CT is a useful and essential modality to visualize the precise anatomy around the stomach. As a result, by comparing 3D CT images with our classifications, it is believed that any surgeons may reduce the degree of intraoperative blood loss.

In most of the patients, the dorsal branches of segment 8 supplied the dorsocranial area of the right lobe posterior to the right hepatic vein. The paracaval portion of the caudate lobe was limited to below the interval between the middle and right hepatic veins in the majority of patients who showed medial branches of segment 8 arising near the porta hepatis. Recognition of this vascular anatomy is clinically important for preoperative evaluation of hepatic tumors in segment 8 because it may contribute to a safer surgical approach.

No abstract

Decreased blood flow value acquired from P-CT may reflect a progressive state of gastric cancer. The pathological background for this relation involves the tumor stroma. Tumor perfusion decreased as the stage and malignant character of the tumor advanced, and therefore P-CT could be a better strategy to estimate the malignancy level of cancer.Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel IntroductionGastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and although diagnosed at a high frequency, it is still characterized by a poor prognosis [1][2][3] . A curative resection is the best treatment method to achieve cure in gastric cancer, but less than half are expected to survive for more than 5 years [4] . It is important to identify those cases at significant risk for recurrence and poor prognosis that could be treated with adjuvant therapy. The need for more reliable prognostic factors for gastric cancer has resulted in reports on new methods to predict the patient outcome, but the classification based on stage is still the mainstream parameter of choice.The assessment of tumor perfusion and hemodynamic changes is useful in understanding the pathological Key WordsPerfusion computed tomography ؒ Blood flow ؒ Tumor stroma ؒ Angiogenesis ؒ Intratumoral hemodynamics Abstract Background/Aims: Intratumoral hemodynamics or tumor perfusion is useful in understanding the pathological background of the cancer. A parameter for a non-invasive, preoperative assessment of tumor perfusion has yet to be developed. Methods: The study included 50 patients who underwent surgery for gastric cancer. Perfusion computed tomography (P-CT) was performed using a 16-row multidetector CT, and tumor blood flow (ml/min/100 g tissue) values were measured. We compared blood flow with histopathological characteristics and evaluated its correlation with microvessel density and tumor stromal density and calculated the ratio of vessels and stromal tissue. Results: There was a significant decrease in blood flow in advanced tumor depth, peritoneal dissemination and undifferentiated subtypes. Cases with Lauren's diffuse type carcinoma were found to have decreased blood flow compared to the mixed or intestinal type. As for the stromal structure, despite the lack of correlation with microvessel density, blood flow significantly decreased with increased stromal density. Conclusions: background of the cancer and determining prognosis. Malignant tumor growth and metastasis require a constant new blood supply and tumor-associated angiogenesis plays a critical role in development and spread of malignant tumors [5] . Clinical trials have succeeded in improving the patient survival with various anti-angiogenesis agents [6,7] . In addition, intratumoral neovascularization is a significant prognostic factor in some types of cancers, such as breast, colorectal and lung cancer [8][9][10] .Preoperative gastric histopathology has almost always been diagnosed using conventional endoscopic specimens. These are, however, inadequate for assessing angiogenesis because...