Abstract
Background and aims: Hepatic resection is the first-line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Whether to perform anatomical (AR) or non-anatomical resection (NAR) remains controversial. This retrospective study compares the outcomes according to the number and type of circulating tumour cells (CTCs).Methods: The cohort included 136 patients with HCC treated with R0 resection between 2014 and 2017. CanPatrol CTC-enrichment technique was used to enrich and classify CTCs according to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition phenotype.Results: 91.91% of total patients were CTC-positive, with 91.23% in the AR group and 92.41% in the NAR group. Tumour-free survival (TFS) did not differ significantly between the two groups. However, TFS was significantly higher in patients with low CTCs count and mesenchymal- and epithelial/mesenchymal-negative phenotypes. As for the incidence and types of recurrence, high pre-resection CTC count and mesenchymal- and epithelial/mesenchymal-positivity were significantly associated with extrahepatic and multi-intrahepatic recurrence. Higher morbidities for hepatic failure and ascites were observed in patients treated by AR.Conclusion: AR may be more beneficial than NAR only in patients with low CTC count and mesenchymal- and epithelial/mesenchymal-negative phenotypes. For patients with a high CTC count, the balance between operative risk and prognostic benefit is more important than the resection method performed.Key messagesAnatomic resection may improve the survival of HCC patients, but only those with low CTC count and negative M- and E/M-CTC phenotypes.CTC analysis before surgery can be used to better guide the choice of resection method for HCC.