•RESEARCH PAPER• ................... ................... https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-017-9259-9 ........................................................................................................... 42,573 cases of hepatectomy in China: a multicenter retrospective investigation Binhao Zhang 1 , Bixiang Zhang 1 , Zhiwei Zhang 1 , Zhiyong Huang 1 , Yifa Chen 1 , Minshan Chen 4 , Ping Bie 5 , Baogang Peng 6 , Liqun Wu 7 , Zhiming Wang 8 , Bo Li 9 , Jia Fan 10 , Lunxiu Qin 11 , Ping Chen 12 , Jingfeng Liu 13 , Zhe Tang 14 , Jun Niu 15 , Xinmin Yin 16 , Deyu Li 17 , Songqing He 18 , Bin Jiang 19 , Yilei Mao 3* , Weiping Zhou 2* & Xiaoping Chen 1* 1 Institute of Hepato-pancreato-bililary Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China; 2 Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Shanghai 201805, China; 3 Union Hospital, Beijing 100032, China; 4 Cancer Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China; 5 Southwest Hospital, Chongqing 400038, China; 6 The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; 7 Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao Medical College, Qingdao 266071, China; 8 Xiangya Hospital, Changsha 410008, China; 9 West China Hospital, Chengdu 610041, China; 10 Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; 11 Huashan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 100044, China; 12 Daping Hospital, the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400042, China; 13 Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital, Fuzhou 350025, China; 14 The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China; 15 Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China; 16 Hunan People’s Hospital, Changsha 410002, China; 17 Henan People’s Hospital, Zhengzhou 450003, China; 18 The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China; 19 Taihe Hospital, Shiyan 442000, China Received October 20, 2017; accepted December 6, 2017; published online February 2, 2018 Hepatectomy is currently routinely performed in most hospitals in China. China owns the largest population of liver diseases and the biggest number of liver resection cases. A nationwide multicenter retrospective investigation involving 112 hospitals was performed, and focused on liver resection for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). 42,573 cases of hepatectomy were enrolled, and 18,275 valid cases of liver resection for HCC patients were selected for statistical analysis. The epidemiology of HCC, distribution of hepatectomy, postoperative complications and prognosis were finally analyzed. In the 18,275 HCC patients, 81% had hepatitis B virus infection and 10% had hepatitis C virus infection. 38% of the HCC patients had normal Alphafe- toprotein (AFP) level, and other 35% had an AFP level lower than 400 ng mL −1 . In the study period, 97% of the hepatectomy for HCC were treated with open surgery, and 23.81% had vascular exclusion techniques. The operation time was (191.7±105.6) min, the blood loss was (546.0±562.8) mL, and blood transfusion was (543.0±1,035.2) mL. The median survival for HCC patients was 631 days, with 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival of 73.2%, 28.8% and 19.6%, respectively. Liver cirrhosis, multiple nodules, tumor thrombosis and high AFP level were risk factors that affect postoperative survival. © Science China Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2018 ......................................... life.scichina.com link.springer.com SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences *Corresponding authors (Yilei Mao, email: pumch-liver@hotmail.com; Weiping Zhou, email: ehphwp@126.com; Xiaoping Chen, email: chenxp@medmail.com.cn)