Introduction:
This study aimed to analyse and summarize the clinical characteristics and prognosis of children with hepatoblastoma (HB) recurrence.

Material and methods:
From January 2009 to June 2018, the clinical data of 55 children with HB, who had recurrence after complete remission (CR), were collected and analysed.

Results:
Of the 55 patients, the median duration of follow-up was 65 months, the median interval from CR to the first recurrence was 3 months, and the event-free survival (EFS) times were 42.00 ±4.72 months. For sites of recurrence, 24 patients had lung recurrence only, 6 patients had liver recurrence only, 18 patients had recurrence in both the liver and lung, and 7 patients had recurrence in other sites of the body (6 cases of brain and 1 case of mediastinum). The overall 5-year survival rate of 55 cases was 47.4% and the 5-year disease-free survival rate was 37.3%. According to the treatment after recurrence, the patients were divided into the combined treatment group (chemotherapy combined with surgery, 41 cases) and the chemotherapy alone group (14 cases). The 3-year overall survival rates were 75.2% and 17.1%, respectively, with statistical difference 2 = 28.441, p < 0.001. The EFS time and the 3-year EFS rate of the 2 groups was 55.04 ±4.10 months vs. 32.63 ±4.34 months; 70% vs. 55.7%, with significant difference 2 = 3.328, p = 0.0068.

Conclusions:
The prognosis of recurrent HB is poor. The main sites of recurrence were lung and liver. After recurrence, chemotherapy combined with surgery can improve prognosis, and complete remission can be achieved.