Living-Donor Liver Transplantation for Patients With Extrahepatic Malignancy: A Series of 14 Patients in a Single Institution

Abstract

Extrahepatic malignancy is a relative contraindication for liver transplant in many countries. Nevertheless, the indications for living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for such patients vary by institution. Our aim was to reevaluate the indications for LDLT in patients with extrahepatic malignancy. We retrospectively reviewed data for 609 patients who underwent adult LDLT from May 1997 to January 2018 and analyzed patients with a history of extrahepatic malignancies or concurrent malignancies. Fourteen patients had extrahepatic malignancies concurrent with or before LDLT. Malignancies in 9 patients were detected during their systematic screening for LDLT. The mean duration between surgeries was 70 days (range, 20-209 days). Five patients had a history of extrahepatic malignancies before considering LDLT. The estimated 5-year survival rate was 100%. Although the risk and long-term prognosis of patients with extrahepatic malignancy are not well known, such patients can be candidates for LDLT if they undergo curative surgery for the malignancy, and if the prognosis of the malignancy is the same or superior to that of LDLT.