Simultaneous portal and hepatic vein embolization is better than portal embolization or ALPPS for hypertrophy of future liver remnant before major hepatectomy: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

Background:Post-hepatectomy liver failure(PHLF)is the Achilles’heel of hepatic resection for colorectal liver metastases.The most commonly used procedure to generate hypertrophy of the functional liver remnant(FLR)is portal vein embolization(PVE),which does not always lead to successful hypertrophy.Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy(ALPPS)has been proposed to overcome the limitations of PVE.Liver venous deprivation(LVD),a technique that includes simultaneous portal and hepatic vein embolization,has also been proposed as an alternative to ALPPS.The present study aimed to conduct a systematic review as the first network meta-analysis to compare the efficacy,effectiveness,and safety of the three regenerative techniques.Data sources:A systematic search for literature was conducted using the electronic databases Embase,PubMed(MEDLINE),Google Scholar and Cochrane.Results:The time to operation was significantly shorter in the ALPPS cohort than in the PVE and LVD cohorts by 27 and 22 days,respectively.Intraoperative parameters of blood loss and the Pringle maneuver demonstrated non-significant differences between the PVE and LVD cohorts.There was evidence of a significantly higher FLR hypertrophy rate in the ALPPS cohort when compared to the PVE cohort,but non-significant differences were observed when compared to the LVD cohort.Notably,the LVD cohort demonstrated a significantly better FLR/body weight(BW)ratio compared to both the ALPPS and PVE cohorts.Both the PVE and LVD cohorts demonstrated significantly lower major morbidity rates compared to the ALPPS cohort.The LVD cohort also demonstrated a significantly lower 90-day mortality rate compared to both the PVE and ALPPS cohorts.Conclusions:LVD in adequately selected patients may induce adequate and profound FLR hypertrophy before major hepatectomy.Present evidence demonstrated significantly lower major morbidity and mortality rates in the LVD cohort than in the ALPPS and PVE cohorts.

Non-target lung embolization during portal vein embolization due to an unrecognized portosystemic venous fistula:A case report

BACKGROUND Portal vein embolization(PVE)is an effective and relatively safe procedure performed prior to major hepatic resection to enhance future liver remnant.Nontarget embolization during PVE is rare,and if it occurs,it usually affects the future liver remnant.Intrahepatic portosystemic venous fistulas are extremely rare in non-cirrhotic livers.We report a case of non-targeted lung embolization during PVE due to an unrecognized intrahepatic portosystemic fistula.CASE SUMMARY A 60-year-old male presented with metastatic colon cancer of the liver.The patient underwent preoperative right PVE.During the embolization procedure,a small amount of glue and lipiodol emulsion was embolized to the heart and lungs through an unrecognized intrahepatic portosystemic fistula.The patient remained clinically stable and underwent the planned hepatic resection after 4 wk,with an uneventful postoperative course.CONCLUSION Conventional portograms and careful evaluation prior to PVE are advisable to avoid such complications.

Portal vein embolization for closure of marked arterioportal shunt of hepatocellular carcinoma to enable radioembolization:A case report

BACKGROUND Marked arterioportal shunt(APS)can be a contraindication for transarterial radioembolization(TARE)because of the risk of radiation-induced liver toxicity or pneumonitis.To date,the best method to close marked APS to reduce intrahepatic shunt(IHS)and hepatopulmonary shunt(HPS)before TARE has not been elucidated.CASE SUMMARY This case report describes a novel strategy of embolization of the portal venous outlet to reduce IHS and HPS caused by marked APS before TARE in a patient with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).The patient had a significant intratumoral shunt from the tumor artery to the portal vein and had already been suspected based on pre-interventional magnetic resonance angiography,and digital subtraction angiography(DSA)confirmed the shunt.Selective right portal vein embolization(PVE)was performed to close the APS outlet and DSA confirmed complete closure.Technetium-99m macroaggregated albumin was administered and single photon emission computed tomography revealed a low HPS with 8.4%.Successful TARE was subsequently performed.No major procedurerelated complication occurred.CONCLUSION Closure of APS with PVE during mapping angiography of advanced-stage HCC to enable reduction of HPS and subsequent TARE is feasible.

Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy： the current role and development

BACKGROUND： Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy （ALPPS） has recently been developed to induce rapid liver hypertrophy and reduce posthepatectomy liver failure in patients with insufficient future liver remnant （FLR）. ALPPS is still considered to be in an early developmental phase because surgical indications and techniques have not been standardized. This article aimed to review the current role and future developments of ALPPS. DATA SOURCES： Studies were identified by searching MED- LINE and PubMed for articles from January 2007 to October 2016 using the keywords ＂associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy＂ and ＂ALPPS＂ Addi- tional papers were identified by a manual search of references from key articles. RESULTS： ALPPS induces more hypertrophy of the FLR in less time than portal vein embolization or portal vein ligation. The benefits of ALPPS include rapid hypertrophy 47%-110% of the liver over a median of 6-16.4 days, and 95%-100% com- pletion rate of the second stage of ALPPS. The main criticisms of ALPPS are centered on its high morbidity and mortality rates. Morbidity rates after ALPPS have been reported to be 15.3%-100%, with ≥ the Clavien-Dindo grade III morbidity of 13.6%-44%. Mortality rates have been reported to be 0%-29%. The important questions to ask even if oncologic long-term results are acceptable are： whether the gain in quality and quantity of life can be off balance by the substantial risks of morbidity and mortality, and whether stimulation of rapid liver hypertrophy also accelerates rapid tumor progression and spread. Up till now, the documentations of the ALPPS procedure come mainly from case series, and most of these series include heterogeneous groups of malignancies. The numbers are also too small to separately evaluate survival for different tumor etiologies. CONCLUSIONS： Currently, knowledge on ALPPS is limited, and prospective randomized studies are lacking. From the reported preliminary results, safety of the ALPPS procedure remains questionable. ALPPS should only be used in experienced, high-volume hepatobiliary centers.

Evolution of associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy: Simpler, safer and equally effective methods

Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy(ALPPS) has been recently demonstrated as a method to induce rapid and extensive hypertrophy within a short time and has been employed for a variety of primary and metastatic liver tumors. However, controversies remain due to its high morbidity and mortality. To enable safer surgery, liver surgeons have searched for better technical modifications, such as partial ALPPS, mini-ALPPS, minimally invasive ALPPS, and Terminal branches portal vein Embolization Liver Partition for Planned hepatectomy(TELPP). It seems that TELPP is very promising, because it has the main advantage of ALPPS-the rapid increase of future liver remnant volume, but the morbidity and mortality are much lower because only one surgical operation is required.

Role of associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy in colorectal liver metastases:A review

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the Western world. Approximately half of patients will develop liver metastases, which is the most common cause of death. The only potentially curative treatment is surgical resection. However, many patients retain a to small future liver remnant(FLR) to allow for resection directly. There are therefore strategies todecrease the tumor with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to increase the FLR. An accepted strategy to increase the FLR is portal vein occlusion(PVO). A concern with this strategy is that a large proportion of patients will never be operated because of progression during the interval between PVO and resection. ALPPS(associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy) is a new procedure with a high resection rate. A concern with this approach is the rather high frequency of complications and high mortality, compared to PVO. In this review, it is shown that with ALPPS the resection rate was 97.1% for CRLM and the mortality rate for all diagnoses was 9.6%. The mortality rate was likely lower for patients with CRLM, but some data were lacking in the reports. Due to the novelty of ALPPS, the indications and technique are not yet established but there are arguments for ALPPS in the context of CRLM and a small FLR.

Sequential transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and portal vein embolization before right hemihepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Background:Recent studies showed that sequential selective transcatheter arterial chemoembolization(TACE)and portal vein embolization(PVE)provided better future liver remnant(FLR)regeneration rate and disease-free survival following surgery compared with PVE alone.The present study aimed to clarify whether preoperative sequential TACE and PVE before right hemihepatectomy can reduce postoperative hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)recurrence and improve long-term disease-free and overall survival.Methods:Recurrence and survival outcomes were retrospectively evaluated in 205 patients with HCC who underwent right hemihepatectomy by a single surgeon from November 1993 to November 2017.Patients were divided into four groups according to the procedure performed before the surgery:sequential TACE and PVE(TACE-PVE),PVE-only,TACE-only,or na?ve control groups.The baseline patient and tumor characteristics,postoperative outcomes,recurrence-free survival and overall survival were analyzed.Results:Baseline patient and tumor characteristics upon diagnosis were similar in all four groups,while sequential TACE and PVE were well tolerated.The TACE-PVE group had a higher mean increase in percentage FLR volume compared with that of the PVE-only group(17.46%±6.63%vs.12.14%±5.93%;P=0.001).The TACE-PVE group had significantly better overall and disease-free survival rates compared with the other groups(both P<0.001).Conclusions:Sequential TACE and PVE prior to surgery can be an effective therapeutic strategy for patients with HCC scheduled for major hepatic resection.The active application of preoperative sequential TACE and PVE for HCC would allow more patients with marginal FLR volume to become candidates for major hepatic resection by promoting compensatory FLR hypertrophy without the deterioration of basal hepatic functional reserve or tumor progression.

Simultaneous transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and portal vein embolization for patients with large hepatocellular carcinoma before major hepatectomy

BACKGROUND Sequential transarterial chemoembolization(TACE)and portal vein embolization(PVE)are associated with long time interval that can allow tumor growth and nullify treatments'benefits.AIM To evaluate the effect of simultaneous TACE and PVE for patients with large hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)prior to elective major hepatectomy.METHODS Fifty-one patients with large HCC who underwent PVE combined with or without TACE prior to hepatectomy were included in this study,with 13 patients in the simultaneous TACE+PVE group,17 patients in the sequential TACE+PVE group,and 21 patients in the PVE-only group.The outcomes of the procedures were compared and analyzed.RESULTS All patients underwent embolization.The mean interval from embolization to surgery,the kinetic growth rate of the future liver remnant(FLR),the degree of tumor size reduction,and complete tumor necrosis were significantly better in the simultaneous TACE+PVE group than in the other groups.Although the patients in the simultaneous TACE+PVE group had a higher transaminase levels after PVE and TACE,they recovered to comparable levels with the other two groups before surgery.The intraoperative course and the complication and mortality rates were similar among the three groups.The overall survival and disease-free survival were higher in the simultaneous TACE+PVE group than in the other two groups.CONCLUSION Simultaneous TACE and PVE is a safe and effective approach to increase FLR volume for patients with large HCC before major hepatectomy.

No difference in mortality among ALPPS,two-staged hepatectomy,and portal vein embolization/ligation:A systematic review by updated traditional and network meta-analyses

Background:There is an ongoing debate on the feasibility,safety,and oncological efficacy of the associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy(ALPPS)technique.The aim of this study was to compare ALPPS,two-staged hepatectomy(TSH),and portal vein embolization(PVE)/ligation(PVL)using updated traditional meta-analysis and network meta-analysis(NMA).Data sources:Electronic databases were used in a systematic literature search.Updated traditional metaanalysis and NMA were performed and compared.Mortality and major morbidity were selected as primary outcomes.Results:Nineteen studies including 1200 patients were selected from the pool of 436 studies.Of these patients,315(31%)and 702(69%)underwent ALPPS and portal vein occlusion(PVO),respectively.Ninetyday mortality based on updated traditional meta-analysis,subgroup analysis of the randomized controlled trials(RCTs),and both Bayesian and frequentist NMA did not demonstrate significant differences between the ALPPS cohort and the PVE,PVL,and TSH cohorts.Moreover,analysis of RCTs did not demonstrate significant differences of major morbidity between the ALPPS and PVO cohorts.The ALPPS cohort demonstrated significantly more favorable outcomes in hypertrophy parameters,time to operation,definitive hepatectomy,and R0 margins rates compared with the PVO cohort.In contrast,1-year disease-free survival was significantly higher in the PVO cohort compared to the ALPPS cohort.Conclusions:This study is the first to use updated traditional meta-analysis and both Bayesian and frequentist NMA and demonstrated no significant differences in 90-day mortality between the ALPPS and other hepatic hypertrophy approaches.Furthermore,two high quality RCTs including 147 patients demonstrated no significant differences in major morbidity between the ALPPS and PVO cohorts.

Portal vein embolization before major hepatectomy

To discuss the rationale, techniques and the unsolved issues regarding preoperative portal vein embolization (PVE) before major hepatectomy. After a systematic search of Pubmed, we reviewed and retrieved literature related to PVE. Preoperative PVE is an approach that is gaining increasing acceptance in the preoperative treatment of selected patients prior to major hepatic resection. Induction of selective hypertrophy of the nondiseased portion of the liver with PVE in patients with either primary or secondary hepatobiliary, malignancy with small estimated future liver remnants (FLR) may result in fewer complications and shorter hospital stays following resection. Additionally, PVE performed in patients initially considered unsuitable for resection due to lack of sufficient remaining normal parenchyma may add to the pool of candidates for surgical treatment. The results suggest that PVE is recomm-endable in treating the cirrhotic patients before major liver resection.

Portal vein embolization failure:Current strategies and future perspectives to improve liver hypertrophy before major oncological liver resection

Portal vein embolization(PVE)is currently considered the standard of care to improve the volume of an inadequate future remnant liver(FRL)and decrease the risk of post-hepatectomy liver failure(PHLF).PHLF remains a significant limitation in performing major liver surgery and is the main cause of mortality after resection.The degree of hypertrophy obtained after PVE is variable and depends on multiple factors.Up to 20%of patients fail to undergo the planned surgery because of either an inadequate FRL growth or tumor progression after the PVE procedure(usually 6-8 wk are needed before surgery).The management of PVE failure is still debated,with a lack of consensus regarding the best clinical strategy.Different additional techniques have been proposed,such as sequential transarterial chemoembolization followed by PVE,segment 4 PVE,intra-portal administration of stem cells,dietary supplementation,and hepatic vein embolization.The aim of this review is to summarize the up-to-date strategies to overcome such difficult situations and discuss future perspectives on improving FRL hypertrophy.

Portal vein embolization in the treatment of portal vein bleeding after percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage: A case report and literature review

Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage(PTBD)is an effective treatment for benign and malignant obstructive jaundice.Major bleeding complications occur in approximately 2–3%of patients after PTBD,which can result in death.A case involving a 63-year-old male with malignant obstructive jaundice,who experienced severe bleeding after PTBD,is reported.Emergency digital subtraction angiography,celiac trunk artery and superior mesenteric artery angiography were performed;however,no signs of arterial bleeding were found.To identify etiology,portal venography was performed under ultrasound guidance and portal vein bleeding was diagnosed.Ultimately,selective portal vein embolization successfully stopped the bleeding.

Portal vein embolization induces compensatory hypertrophy of remnant liver

AIM： To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of different portal vein branch embolization agents in inducing compensatory hypertrophy of the remnant liver and to offer a theoretic basis for clinical portal vein branch embolization. METHODS： Forty-one adult dogs were included in the experiment and divided into four groups. Five dogs served as a control group, 12 as a gelfoam group, 12 as a coil-gelfoam group and 12 as an absolute ethanol group. Left portal vein embolization was performed in each group. The results from the embolization in each group using different embolic agents were compared. The safety of portal vein embolization （PVE） was evaluated by liver function test, computed tomography （CT） and digital subtraction angiography （DSA） of liver and portal veins. Statistical test of variance was performed to analyze the results. RESULTS： Gelfoam used for PVE was inefficient in recanalization of portal vein branch 4 wk after the procedure. The liver volume in groups of coil-gelfoam and absolute ethanol increased 25.1% and 33.18%, respectively. There was no evidence of recanalization of embolized portal vein, hepatic dysfunction, and portal hypertension in coil-gelfoam group and absolute ethanol group. CONCOUSION： Portal vein branch embolization using absolute ethanol and coil-gelfoam could induce atrophy of the embolized lobes and compensatory hypertrophy of the remnant liver. Gelfoam is an inefficient agent.

Gd-EOB-DTPA based magnetic resonance imaging for predicting liver response to portal vein embolization

AIM To evaluate the correlation between degree of kinetic growth(k GR) of the liver following portal vein embolization(PVE) liver and the enhancement of the during the hepatobiliary phase of contrast administration and to evaluate if the enhancement can be used to predict response to PVE prior to the procedure.METHODS Seventeen patients were consented for the prospective study.All patients had an MR of the abdomen with GdEOB-DTPA.Fourteen patients underwent PVE.The correlation between the kG R of the liver and the degree of enhancement was evaluated with linear regression(strong assumptions) and Spearman's correlation test(rank based,no assumptions).The correlation was examined for the whole liver,segments I,VIII,VII,VI,V,IV,right liver and left liver.RESULTS There was no correlation between the degree of enhancement during the hepatobiliary phase and kG R for any segment,lobe of the liver or whole liver(P = 0.19 to 0.91 by Spearman's correlation test).CONCLUSION The relative enhancement of the liver during the hepatobiliary phase with Gd-EOB-DTPA cannot be used to predict the liver response to PVE.

Functional transition:Inconsistently parallel to the increase in future liver remnant volume after preoperative portal vein embolization

BACKGROUND Preoperative portal vein embolization(PVE)is a widely used strategy to enable major hepatectomy in patients with insufficient liver remnant.PVE induces hypertrophy of the future liver remnant(FLR)and a shift of the functional reserve to the FLR.However,whether the increase of the FLR volume(FLRV)corresponds to the functional transition after PVE remains unclear.AIM To investigate the sequential relationship between the increase in FLRV and functional transition after preoperative PVE using 3-dimensional(3D)computed tomography(CT)and 99mTc-galactosyl-human serum albumin(99mTc-GSA)singlephoton emission computed tomography(SPECT)fusion images.METHODS Thirty-three patients who underwent major hepatectomy following PVE at the Department of Gastroenterological Surgery I,Hokkaido University Hospital between October 2013 and March 2018 were enrolled.Three-phase dynamic multidetector CT and 99mTc-GSA SPECT scintigraphy were performed at pre-PVE,and at 1 and 2 wk after PVE;3D 99mTc-GSA SPECT CT-fused images were constructed from the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine data using 3D image analysis system.Functional FLRV(FFLRV)was defined as the total liver volume×(FLR volume counts/total liver volume counts)on the 3D 99m Tc-GSA SPECT CT-fused images.The calculated FFLRV was compared with FLRV.RESULTS FFLRV increased by a significantly larger extent than FLRV at 1 and 2 wk after PVE(P<0.01).The increase in FFLRV and FLRV was 55.1%±41.6%and 26.7%±17.8%(P<0.001),respectively,at 1 wk after PVE,and 64.2%±33.3%and 36.8%±18.9%(P<0.001),respectively,at 2 wk after PVE.In 3 of the 33 patients,FFLRV levels decreased below FLRV at 2 wk.One of the three patients showed rapidly progressive fatty changes in FLR.The biopsy at 4 wk after PVE showed macroand micro-vesicular steatosis of more than 40%,which improved to 10%.Radical resection was performed at 13 wk after PVE.The patient recovered uneventfully without any symptoms of pos-toperative liver failure.CONCLUSION The functional transition lagged behind the increase in FLRV after PVE in some cases.Evaluating both volume and function is needed to determine the optimal timing of hepatectomy after PVE.

Sonographic differentiation of diffuse liver cancer from portal cirrhosis

Objective: To differentiate diffuse liver cancer from portal cirrhosis by using ultrasonography. Methods: We analyzed the sonographic images of 15 patients with diffuse liver cancer and 30 patients with portal cirrhosis. Results: The patients with diffuse liver cancer showed enlarged liver and obvious echo of nodules. The rate of portal embolism and swelling of lymph nodes a- round the porta hepatis was high. The patients with portal cirrhosis showed diminished liver and the obvi- ous echo of fiber proliferation. The rates of spleen enlargement and ascites as well as gallbladder edema were high. Conclusions: To identify sonographic characteristics inside and outside of the liver. It is helpful in diffe- rentiating diffuse liver cancer from portal cirrhosis. The sonographic characteristics inside the liver in- clude surface and size, node echo, echo of fibrous tissue hyperplasia. They are difficult to identify when diffuse liver cancer merges with considerable cirrho- sis. The acoustic image characteristics of the two di- seases overlap. Hence attention should be paid to the size of the liver, proliferation of cells of diffuse liver carcinoma. In sonographic characteristics outside the liver, embolism of the portal vein and swelling of lymph nodes in the porta hepatis are particularly use- ful to identify diffuse liver cancer or diffuse liver cancer combined with liver cirrhosis in particular.

Expression of MMP-2 in residual VX2 liver tumor after transcatheter arterial embolization combined with portal venous embolization in an animal model

Objective:This study aimed to analyze the effects of transcatheter arterial embolization(TAE)combined with portal venous embolization(PVE)on the expression of MMP-2 in residual VX2 liver tumor tissues,liver function and non-embolic lobe regeneration.Methods:A total of 72 rabbits were randomly divided into Sham,TAE,PVE and TAE+PVE groups(n=18/group).The tissue samples from each group were taken at 6 h,3 days and 7 days after interventional operation,respectively.MMP-2 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry,Real-time PCR,and Western-blotting.The main indicators(such as AST,ATL,and TBIL)of liver function and the volume of non-embolized hepatic lobes were measured in each group after operation.One-way ANOVA and Kruskal-wallis method were used for statistical analysis.Results:The expression of MMP-2 mRNA and protein remained the highest in the Sham group,and the expression of MMP-2 mRNA and protein in TAE,PVE and TAE+PVE groups were successively increased,and the expression of MMP-2 in TAE+PVE group was always significantly higher than TAE group.The AST and ALT levels in each group on day 7 after operation showed a significant declination,and all groups have recovered to the preoperative baseline level and TBIL has a slight fluctuation in each group after operation with no statistical difference.On day 7 after operation,the increasing volume of non-embolized liver lobes in TAE+PVE group showed a more significant effect than those in PVE group,but there was no statistical significance(37.62±1.54 ml VS 36.18±1.15 ml,P=0.881),and its volume was significantly higher than those in the sham group(27.03±1.11 ml).Conclusion:TAE+PVE is considered to be an efficient and safe approach for treating rabbit VX2 liver transplantation tumor,but the expression of MMP-2 increased fastest after TAE+PVE,which might promote tumor cell invasion and metastasis.

Liver atrophy after percutaneous transhepatic portal embolization occurs in two histological phases: Hepatocellular atrophy followed by apoptosis

AIM To clarify the histological changes associated with liver atrophy after percutaneous transhepatic portalembolization(PTPE) in pigs and humans. METHODS As a preliminary study, we performed pathological examinations of liver specimens from five pigs that had undergone PTPE in a time-dependent model of liver atrophy. In specimens from embolized lobes(EMB) and nonembolized lobes(controls), we measured the portal vein to central vein distance(PV-CV), the area and number of hepatocytes per lobule, and apoptotic activity using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dU TP nickend labeling assay. Immunohistochemical reactivities were evaluated for light chain 3(LC3) and lysosomal-associated membrane protein 2(LAMP2) as autophagy markers and for glutamine synthetase and cytochrome P450 2 E1(CYP2 E1) as metabolic zonation markers. Samples from ten human livers taken 20-36 d after PTPE were similarly examined. RESULTS PV-CVs and lobule areas did not differ between EMB and controls at day 0, but were lower in EMB than in controls at weeks 2, 4, and 6(P ≤ 0.001). Hepatocyte numbers were not significantly reduced in EMB at day 0 and week 2 but were reduced at weeks 4 and 6(P ≤ 0.05). Apoptotic activity was higher in EMB than in controls at day 0 and week 4. LC3 and LAMP2 staining peaked in EMB at week 2, with no significant difference between EMB and controls at weeks 4 and 6. Glutamine synthetase and CYP2 E1 zonation in EMB at weeks 2, 4, and 6 were narrower than those in controls. Human results were consistent with those of porcine specimens. CONCLUSION The mechanism of liver atrophy after PTPE has two histological phases: Hepatocellular atrophy is likely caused by autophagy in the first 2 wk and apoptosis thereafter.

ALPPS versus portal vein embolization for hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma: a delicate balance between volume and morbidity

We have read with great interest the recent study published by Li et al.,entitled“Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy versus sequential transarterial chemoembolization and portal vein embolization in staged hepatectomy for HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma:a randomized comparative study”(1).

Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS)-a fine balance

We read with interest the paper by Li et al.entitled“Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy versus sequential transarterial chemoembolization and portal vein embolization in staged hepatectomy for HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma:a randomized comparative study”(1).