Objective To investigate the clinical value of abdominal adipose volume in predicting early tumor recurrence after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods The retrospective case‑control study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 132 HCC patients with tumor diameter ≤5 cm who were admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from December 2017 to October 2019 were collected. There were 110 males and 22 females, aged (51±4)years. All patients underwent resection of HCC. Preoperative computer tomography scanning was performed and the visceral and subcutaneous fats of patients were quantified using the Mimics Research 21.0 software. Based on time to postoperative tumor recurrence patients were divided to two categories: early recurrence and non-early recurrence. Observation indicators: (1) consistency analy-sis; (2) analysis of factors influencing early tumor recurrence after resection of HCC and construction of prediction model. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean±SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the t test. Measurement data with skewed distribu-tion were represented as M(Q₁,Q₃) or M(range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann‑Whitney U test. Count data were expressed as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi‑square test or Fisher exact probability. Consistency analysis was conducted using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC) test. Multivariate analysis was performed using the binary Logistic regression model forward method. Independent risk factors influencing early tumor recurrence after resection of HCC were screened. The area under curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to select the optimal cut‑off value to classify high and low risks of recurrence. The Kaplan‑Meier method was used to draw survival curve and calculate survival time. The Log‑Rank test was used for survival analysis.

Results (1) Consistency analysis. The consistency ICC of abdominal fat parameters of visceral fat volume (VFV), subcutaneous fat volume, visceral fat area, and subcutaneous fat area measured by 2 radiologists were 0.84, 1.00, 0.86, and 0.94, respectively. (2) Analysis of factors influencing early tumor recurr-ence after resection of HCC and construction of prediction model. All 132 patients were followed up after surgery for 662(range, 292-1 111)days. During the follow‑up, there were 52 patients with non‑early recurrence and 80 patients with early recurrence. Results of multivariate analysis showed that VFV was an independent factor influencing early tumor recurrence after resection of HCC (odds ratio=4.07, 95% confidence interval as 2.27-7.27, P<0.05). The AUC of ROC curve based on VFV was 0.78 (95% confidence interval as 0.70-0.85), and the sensitivity and specificity were 72.2 % and 77.4 %, respectively. The optimal cut‑off value of VFV was 1.255 dm³, and all 132 patients were divided into the high‑risk early postoperative recurrence group of 69 cases with VFV >1.255 dm³, and the low‑risk early postoperative recurrence group of 63 cases with VFV ≤1.255 dm³. The disease-free survival time of the high‑risk early postoperative recurrence group and the low‑risk early post-operative recurrence group were 414(193,702)days and 1 047(620,1 219)days, showing a significant difference between them (χ²=31.17, P<0.05).

Conclusions VFV is an independent factor influen-cing early tumor recurrence of HCC after resection. As a quantitative indicator of abdominal fat, it can predict the prognosis of HCC patients.