To investigate the clinicopathological features of primary liver cancer (PLC) and the value of AFP in predicting the patients prognosis after operation.

Clinical data of 107 PLCpatients who underwent surgical treatment in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University and 904 Hospital of PLA from March 2008 to December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 74 patients were male and 33 female, aged 34-77 years with a median age of 56 years. The informed consents of all patients were obtained and the local ethical committee approval was received. Clinicopathological characteristics of all patients were analyzed. All patients were divided into AFP 0-10, 10-400, and >400 μg/L groups. Survival analysis was carried out for patients with different AFP levels. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test.

The male to female ratio in this study was 2.24:1. A majority of PLC patients were aged between 45 and 66 years. 68 cases were HBsAg positive and 37 cases negative. The 1-, 3-, 5-year survival rates of patients with AFP ranging from 0 to 10 μg/L were 87.81%, 72.22%, 66.48%, for those with AFP 11-400 μg/L were 87.27%, 80.43%, 66.76%, and for those with AFP >400 μg/L were 65.39%, 53.63%, 42.97%, respectively. The survival prognosis significantly differed between patients with AFP 0-10 μg/Land >400 μg/L (χ²=4.066, P<0.05).

HBV infection is the first risk factor for PLC in China. PLC is difficult to detect during the early stage. The role of AFP in early diagnosis of PLC should not be over emphasized. However, its predictive value for the prognosis of PLC patients should be noted.