Abstract: Objective To investigate prognostic factors affecting the outcomes of patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer （BCLC） stage B hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC） after hepatectomy. Methods Clinicopathologic data of 169 patients with BCLC stage B HCC were analyzed retrospectively.All patients underwent hepatectomy between March 2003 and September 2007.Cumulative survival rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method.Prognostic factors were screened initially by the log-rank test，and indepen-dent prognostic factors were further analyzed by Cox regression.Results Overall survival rates for 1，3，and 5 years were，respec-tively，76.3%，46.0%，and 38.8%.According to the log-rank test，preoperative serum ALT （P=0.029），tumor capsule （P=0.031），tumor number （P=0.026），liver cirrhosis （P=0.027），and postoperative adjuvant therapy （P<0.001） were significantly associated with prognosis of stage B HCC，and Cox regression indicated that independent prognostic factors were tumor capsule （P=0.032），tumor number （P=0.048），liver cirrhosis （P=0.049），and postoperative adjuvant therapy （P<0.001）.Conclusions Hepatectomy is an effective therapy in patients with stage B HCC，and tumor capsule，tumor number，liver cirrhosis，and postoperative adjuvant therapy are independent prognostic factors.

Key words: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Hepatectomy, Survival rates, Prognosis