Is inconsistency of α-fetoprotein level a good prognosticator for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence?

Table 1 Clinical characteristics of groups I, II, and III

	Group I (n = 16)	Group II (n = 24)	Group III (n = 29)	P
Age (yr)	59.7 ± 12.5	57.1 ± 16.6	48.8 ± 16.3	0.055
Gender (M/F)	10/6	12/12	19/10	0.498
Tumor size (cm)	5.64 ± 3.07	4.80 ± 3.40	5.08 ± 3.11	0.696
ALT (U/L)	74.1 ± 50.9	77.2 ± 84.4	60.6 ± 44.1	0.615
T Bil (mg/dL)	0.79 ± 0.32	0.88 ± 0.49	0.96 ± 0.54	0.496
Albumin (g/dL)	3.74 ± 0.60	3.99 ± 0.50	3.74 ± 0.55	0.196
Plat (103/μL)	154.0 ± 65.8	134.9 ± 68.3	181.1 ± 94.5	0.155
Vessel invasion (+/-)	4/12	6/18	8/21	0.971
Tumor number (S/M)	9/7	16/8	15/14	0.541
AJCC I/II/III	6/2/8	14/4/6	9/6/14	0.282
Child A/B	13/3	22/2	23/6	0.445
HBV (+/-)	12/4	15/9	25/4	0.241
HCV (+/-)	5/11	7/14	6/23	0.678
Cirrhosis (+/-)	10/6	14/10	20/9	0.720
AFP (op) (ng/dL)	1582 ± 2645	3049 ± 7215	2776 ± 6696	0.751
AFP (recur) (ng/dL)	7.5 ± 5.2	86.8 ± 57.9	8162.3 ± 15 250.7	0.006
Recur interval (mo)	21.8 ± 14.6	12.3 ± 7.7	8.3 ± 6.6	< 0.001
Recur-to-death (mo)	18.4 ± 19.5	24.1 ± 19.8	13.6 ± 19.6	0.162
Survival time (mo)	40.2 ± 19.9	36.1 ± 22.4	21.9 ± 22.0	0.013
Intra-hepatic recur	2/14	8/16	17/8	0.001

ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; T Bil: Total bilirubin; Plat: Platelet; Child: Child-Pugh classification; AJCC: American Joint Committee on Cancer; HBV (+): Hepatitis B virus infection; HCV (+): Hepatitis C virus infection; Cirrhosis (+): Cirrhotic change by pathologic finding; AFP (op): α-fetoprotein level preoperatively; AFP (recur): α-fetoprotein level at tumor recurrence; Recur interval: The interval from operation to tumor recurrence; Recur-to-death: The interval from tumor recurrence to patient’s death; Survival time: The time from operation to last follow-up date or death date; Intra-hepatic recur: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence located at the adjacent segment, section and same lobe/HCC recurrence located at contralateral liver lobe.