Efficacy of Prophylactic Endoscopic Variceal Sclerotherapy in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract: A setrospective study to determine the influence of prophylactic endoscopic sclerotherapy on the survival rate of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma complicated by esophageal varices was conducted. The subjects included 132 patients without esophageal varices at the time of diagnosis (NV group), 37 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma for whom prophylactic sclerotherapy had been performed for risky esophageal varices (PS group) and 26 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and risky varices for whom prophylaxis was not performed (NPS group). Multiple regression analysis was used to identify factors affecting the survival rate of the 132 patients without esophageal varices. A tumor embolus in the primary branch or main trunk of the portal vein adversely affected long‐term survival in these patients. The patients were further divided into 2 subgroups, namely those with (Vp3) and without (Vp0‐Vp2) tumor emboli in the main trunk and primary branch of the portal vein. In the Vp0– Vp2 emboli subgroup, the patients who received prophylactic sclerotherapy and the patients without varices had similar survival rates. Patients without prophylactic sclerotherapy had a significantly shorter survival rate than the group without varices and the prophylactic sclesotherapy group (p<0.01 and p<0.05). A significant bleeding rate was observed in the group without prophylaxis and not in the group with prophylaxis. However, in the Vp3 subgroup, the survival rate in each group was identical. Thus prophylactic variceal sclerotherapy is indicated for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who do not have tumor emboli in the main trunk or primary branch of portal vein.