Mechanism of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma and clinicopathological significance        CONG Wen-ming, WU Meng-chao. Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200438, China
Corresponding author: CONG Wen-ming, E-mail: wmcong@smmu.edu.cn
Abstract    Based on molecular pathology, recurrent HCC (RHCC) can be divided into two types: one is monocentric (monoclonal) origin presenting postoperative residual recurrence, and the other is multicentric (multiclonal) origin, meaning a second primary tumor, which can be further divided into six subtypes with concomitant clonal types. However, according to the field cancerization hypothesis, there also exists the possibility of the so called “second field tumor”, which leads to a more complex mechanism and patterns of RHCC. Because correct determination of the clonal origin of RHCC may have actual reference value for personalized therapy, more attention should be paid to establish molecular clonal techniques suitable for pathological lab and to explore the clinical pathway in the diagnosis and treatment of RHCC based on their clonal classifications.