Achieving textbook outcome in liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma: Malnutrition’s pivotal role

PURPOSE To investigate the impact of textbook outcome (TO) achievement on survival post-liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and explore the associated factors. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 330 patients diagnosed with HCC who underwent initial liver resection at our hospital between January 2011 and December 2019. We also investigated the achievement rates of five TOs and sub-analyzed the relationship between them and malnutrition. The patient’s nutritional status was classified following the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria. RESULTS The TO achievement rate was 72.7%. In the prognostic analysis, the TO-achieving group showed significantly longer overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Significant differences in age, body mass index, weight loss, muscle mass, serum aspartate aminotransferase level, serum protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II, tumor characteristics, intraoperative blood loss, perioperative transfusion, and nutritional status were found between the groups. CONCLUSIONS TO achievement is associated with OS and RFS post-liver resection for HCC. The TO is valuable for evaluating treatment quality in liver resection. Additionally, malnutrition graded following the GLIM criteria, age, tumor stage, and intraoperative blood loss are independent factors for achieving a TO post-liver resection for HCC.