The autophagy marker LC3 strongly predicts immediate mortality after surgical resection for hepatocellular carcinoma

The remnant liver's ability to regenerate may affect post-hepatectomy immediate mortality. The promotion of autophagy post-hepatectomy could enhance liver regeneration and reduce mortality. This study aimed to identify predictive factors of immediate mortality after surgical resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 535 consecutive HCC patients who had undergone their first surgical resection in Taiwan were enrolled between 2010 and 2014. Clinicopathological data and immediate mortality, defined as all cause-mortality within three months after surgery, were analyzed. The expression of autophagy proteins (LC3, Beclin-1, and p62) in adjacent non-tumor tissues was scored by immunohistochemical staining. Approximately 5% of patients had immediate mortality after surgery. The absence of LC3, hypoalbuminemia (<3.5 g/dl), high alanine aminotransferase, and major liver surgery were significantly associated with immediate mortality in univariate analyses. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that absence of LC3 (hazard ratio/95% confidence interval: 40.8/5.14-325) and hypoalbuminemia (2.88/1.11-7.52) were significantly associated with immediate mortality. The 3-month cumulative incidence of mortality was 12.1%, 13.0%, 21.4% and 0.4%, respectively, among patients with absence of LC3 expression, hypoalbuminemia, both, or neither of the two. In conclusion, the absence of LC3 expression in adjacent non-tumor tissues and hypoalbuminemia were strongly predictive of immediate mortality after resection for HCC.