Validation of Risk Estimation of Tumor Recurrence After Transplant Score in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated by Liver Transplant.

OBJECTIVES: Recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma can occur after liver transplant in up to 15% of cases. Recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with a dismal prognosis and subsequently a futile liver transplant in most instances. A validated prognostic scoring system forrecurrent hepatocellular carcinoma that combines both pretransplant factors and explant characteristics has not been available until lately. The Risk Estimation of Tumor Recurrence After Transplant ("RETREAT") score was recently validated. In this study, we analyzed this score for patients treated by liver transplant at our institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between August 2006 and December 2019, 73 adult patients within Milan criteria underwentlivertransplantfor hepatocellular carcinoma at our center. RESULTS: Follow-up ranged from 24.3 to 149.9 months with a mean of 45.98 ± 33.3 months. The overall 5-year patient survival, graft survival, and tumor-free survival rates were 78.6%, 90.1%, and 86.3%, respectively. Recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma cases exclusively occurred in patients with score of 3 or more points, with incidence increasing from 0% in those who had scores of ≤2 points to 30.8% in those who had scores of 3 to 5 points and to 66.7% in those who had >5 points (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The Risk Estimation of Tumor Recurrence After Transplant ("RETREAT") score predicted the occurrence of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma in our patients and correlated significantly with its incidence. Patients with scores of >5 points were at a very high risk for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma and should be closely monitored using laboratory and magnetic resonance imaging.

Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma within the Milan criteria versus the University of California San Francisco criteria: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Currently, liver transplantation (LT) for HCC is the only hope for cure from the tumor and from end-stage liver disease (ESLD). The organ pool shortage in deceased donor LT and the donor-related ethical concerns in living-donor LT necessitate the use of rigorous criteria for LT for HCC. In this respect, two main criteria for LT for HCC were implemented with good outcome, namely, the Milan and the University of California San Francisco criteria. Comparison of the outcome of LT for HCC using either of the two criteria has seldom been reported in the literature. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eighty-eight patients underwent LT between August 2003 and end of July 2013 for the presence of pathologically proven pure HCC lesions at our institution. Cases of pediatric LT or liver retransplantation were excluded from this study. Cases with mixed HCC and cholangiocarcinoma were excluded from this study. RESULTS: Eighty-eight patients underwent LT between August 2003 and July 2013 for the presence of pathologically proven pure HCC lesions at our institution. The mean follow-up duration was 45±30.9 months. HCC recurrence was related significantly to the presence of vascular invasion and degree of differentiation of HCC lesion (P value of 0.0001 and 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Patient and tumor free survival did not differ significantly between patients within Milan or University of California San Francisco criteria or beyond both criteria. Vascular invasion and poor differentiation are still the most influential factors for post-transplant long-term outcomes in HCC patients.

Reappraisal of upper age limit for adult living-donor liver transplantation using right lobe grafts: an outcome analysis.

BACKGROUND: Increasingly more elderly recipients are being evaluated for liver transplant nowadays. Reported outcomes of deceased donor liver transplant in elderly recipients have varied in different eras. Little was reported on the outcome of living donor liver transplant (LDLT) in elderly patients, and the upper age limit for consideration for LDLT is variable from center to center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed our database for LDLT procedures performed for recipients 60 years of age or older. Procedures performed for retransplantation or left lobe liver transplants were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups: group A included recipients at least 60 and younger than 65 years old and group B included recipients at least 65 years old. RESULTS: A total of 55 liver transplants were included in our study. Group A included 30 patients, whereas group B included 25 patients. There was a trend toward more vascular complications, more frequent rejections, and hepatitis B virus recurrence in younger patients. This was only significant for hepatitis B virus recurrence. However, there was a trend toward more biliary complications, incisional hernias, and longer ICU/hospital stay in older patients. None of the latter variables reached statistical significance. Older recipients had better patient survival, which was more evident at 3 and 5 years of follow-up. However, graft and disease-free survivals did not differ significantly between both groups. CONCLUSION: LDLT using right lobe grafts for recipients aged 65 years or older is safe and feasible.

Liver transplantation at KFSHRC: achievement and challenges.

The liver transplantation program at KFSHRC has been active since 2001. More than 450 liver transplants have been performed so far. The program evolved from adult cadaveric transplant to living donor and recently to pediatric and split techniques. The 1-year survival of patients for both pediatric and adult exceeded 90% and the 5-year survival of patients is more than 80%. Associated with this success are challenges that include: organ shortage, quality of organ harvested, inability to meet the growing national need, increased demand of resource to meet the need of the program, and lack of a collaborative national strategy in organ donation and transplantation.