Long-term results of liver transplantation for hepatocellular cancer

Abstract

Aim. To study the long-term results of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma in accordance with various criteria for selecting patients for surgery. Materials and methods . The results of 71 liver transplantations for hepatocellular carcinoma have been studied. Long- term survival and disease-free survival have been studied in accordance with various criteria for selecting patients for liver transplantation. Results . The five-year survival rate was 84.3%, the median survival rate was 47.4 months. Higher overall survival and disease-free survival rates were found in patients after living donor liver transplantation compared to patients after cadaveric liver transplantation. The five-year survival rate for patients within the Milan criteria compared to those beyond the Milan criteria were 92.4% vs 74.1%. The five-year survival rate for patients within the UCSF criteria compared to patients beyond the UCSF criteria were 93.3% vs 68.3%. The five-year survival rate for patients within the Up-to-seven criteria compared to patients beyond the Up-to-seven criteria were 88.4% vs 71.0%. The five-year survival rate for patients within the Hangzhou criteria compared to patients beyond the Hangzhou criteria were 84.4% vs 72.9%. Hepatocellular carcinomas recurrent were in 8.4% of patients in the long-term period of liver transplantation. The five-year disease-free survival rate among all patients was 87.7%. The median disease-free survival rate was 43.2 months. The five-year disease-free survival rate for patients within criteria were from 85.4% (Hangzhou University) to 93.3% (UCSF). The five-year disease-free survival rate for patients beyond criteria were from 68.3% (UCSF) to 74.1% (Milan criteria). A statistically significant relapse rate was observed in patients with a Guerrini coefficient >2.3, regardless of the selection criteria in all study groups of patients. Conclusion . The optimal prognostic criteria for liver transplantation for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma are the Milan criteria. Some expansion of the Milan criteria show comparable results. In this regard, it can be assumed that the optimal criteria have not been found at present, which requires new ways to search for expansion of the Milan criteria, taking into account the level of AFP, tumor differentiation, etc.