Objective:ToassesstheeffectofantiviraltherapyforhepatitisBvirus(HBV)-relatedhepatocellularcarcinoma(HCC)afterradicalhepatectomy.Methods:Atotalof478HBV-relatedHCCpatientstreatedbyradicalhepatectomywereretrospectivelycollected.Patientsinthetreatmentgroup(n=141)receivedpostoperativelamivudinetreatment(100mg/d),whereaspatientsinthecontrolgroup(n=337)didnot.Recurrence-freesurvival(RFS)rates,overallsurvival(OS)rates,treatmentsforrecurrentHCCandcauseofdeathwerecomparedbetweenthetwogroups.Propensityscorematching(PSM)analysiswasalsoconductedtoreduceconfoundingbiasbetweenthetwogroups.Results:The1-,3-,and5-yearRFSratesdidn’tsignificantlydifferbetweenthetwogroups(P=0.778);however,the1-,3-,and5-yearOSratesinthetreatmentgroupweresignificantlyhigherthanthoseinthecontrolgroup(P=0.002).Similarresultswereobservedinthematcheddata.SubgroupanalysisshowedthatantiviraltreatmentconferredasignificantsurvivalbenefitforBarcelonaClinicalLiverCancerstageA/Bpatients.FollowingHCCrecurrence,morepeopleinthetreatmentgroupwereabletochoosecurativetreatmentsthanthoseinthecontrolgroup(P=0.031).Forcauseofdeath,fewerpeopleinthetreatmentgroupdiedofliverfailurethanthoseinthecontrolgroup(P=0.041).Conclusion:PostoperativeantiviraltherapyincreaseschancesofreceivingcurativetreatmentsforrecurrentHCCandpreventsdeathbecauseofliverfailure,therebysignificantlyprolongingOS,especiallyinearly-orintermedian-stagetumors.
