Long-term prognosis and treatment modalities of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma: a retrospective study of 228 patients

Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is an extremely rare tumour. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term prognosis and its relationship with treatment modalities.

From March 2014 to June 2024, a total of 234 patients with histologically confirmed hepatic EHE were treated or followed up regularly by our team. The patients’ clinical data at the time of diagnosis and initial treatment modalities were retrospectively collected. Kaplan–Meier curves were constructed to determine overall survival (OS). To explore prognostic factors and treatment outcomes, univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were developed.

A total of 228 patients were ultimately included. The median age of the cohort was 41 years. For all patients, the OS of 1-, 3- and 5-year were 96.2%, 87.9% and 84.9%, respectively. For patients who underwent liver transplantation (LT), the OS of 1- and 3-year were 62.5% and 25%, respectively. No difference was found in the OS between patients who received surgical therapy and those who did not (1-year: 100% vs. 96.9%; 3-year: 90.1% vs. 91.5%; 5-year: 87.2% vs. 88.2%; P = 0.891). In the multivariable analysis, age ≥ 60 years [HR (95% CI): 4.207 (1.266–13.973), P = 0.019], the size of the largest lesion > 10 cm [HR (95% CI): 12.140 (1.419–103.872), P = 0.023] and LT [HR (95% CI): 5.502 (1.343–22.536), P = 0.018] were poor prognostic factors.

Compared with nonsurgical therapy, surgical therapy has no advantage in terms of long-term survival. The role of LT in the management of hepatic EHE should be reevaluated. Age ≥ 60 years and the size of the largest lesion > 10 cm are poor prognostic factors.