scholarly journals Hepatocellular cancer selection systems and liver transplantation: from the tower of babel to an ideal comprehensive score

Author(s):  
Jan Lerut ◽  
Maxime Foguenne ◽  
Quirino Lai

AbstractThe Milan criteria (MC) remain the cornerstone for the selection of patients with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) to be listed for liver transplantation (LT). Recently, several expanded criteria have been proposed to increase the transplantability of HCC patients without compromising their (oncologic) outcome. This paper aims to systematically review the different reported HCC-LT selection systems looking thereby at their ability to increase the number of transplantable patients and the overall survival and oncological outcome. A systematic review of the literature covering the period 1993 (date of the first reported HCC-LT selection system)–2021 identified 59 different inclusion criteria of HCC for LT. Among the 59 studies reporting HCC-LT selection systems, 15 (28.3%) were exclusively based on morphological aspects of the tumor; 29 (54.7%) included biologic, seven (13.2%) radiological, and two (3.8%) only included pathological tumor features. Overall, 31% more patients could be transplanted when adhering to the new HCC-LT selection systems. Despite the increased number of LT, 5-year patient and disease-free survival rates were similar between MC-IN and MC-OUT/new HCC-LT-IN criteria. A careful extension of the inclusion criteria should allow many more patients to access a potentially curative LT without compromising their outcome. The development of a widely accepted “comprehensive” HCC-LT Score able to offer a fair chance of justified transplantation to more patients should become a priority within the liver transplant community. Further studies are needed to develop internationally accepted, expanded selection criteria for liver transplantation of HCC patients.

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 552-559
Author(s):  
J. Lerut ◽  
S. Iesari ◽  
M. Foguenne ◽  
K. Ackenin ◽  
Q. Lai

The care for liver-diseased patients presenting with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) is changing rapidly. Many treatment possibilities and caregivers belonging to a multitude of specialities troubled the therapeutic algorithm of the liver cancer patients. HCC in both normal and diseased livers has to be considered firstly as a surgical disease. The possibilities of surgery, including liver resections, as well as liver transplantation, have been underestimated and even been minimalized mainly as a consequence of many studies promoting in an unlimited way all different kinds of locoregional non-surgical and systemic therapies. Locoregional therapies and surgical procedures should not be seen as competing, but as complementary treatment options. Locoregional therapies are of value if surgery is not possible; in the context of transplantation they have an important role as ‘downstaging procedures’ allowing for bringing of transplantable patients into the required inclusion criteria. Systemic therapies and living donor liver transplantation will without any doubt occupy a more important role in the future therapeutic scheme of HCC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1353
Author(s):  
Enrico Gringeri ◽  
Martina Gambato ◽  
Gonzalo Sapisochin ◽  
Tommy Ivanics ◽  
Erica Nicola Lynch ◽  
...  

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) arises from the biliary tract epithelium and accounts for 10–15% of all hepatobiliary malignancies. Depending on anatomic location, CCA is classified as intrahepatic (iCCA), perihilar (pCCA) and distal (dCCA). The best treatment option for pCCA is liver resection and when a radical oncological surgery is obtained, 5-year survival rate are around 20–40%. In unresectable patients, following a specific protocol, liver transplantation (LT) for pCCA showed excellent long-term disease-free survival rates. Fewer data are available for iCCA in LT setting. Nevertheless, patients with very early unresectable iCCA appear to achieve excellent outcomes after LT. This review aims to evaluate existing evidence to define the current role of LT in the management of patients with CCA.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Supriya S. Patel ◽  
Amanda K. Arrington ◽  
Shaun McKenzie ◽  
Brian Mailey ◽  
Michelle Ding ◽  
...  

The application of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for patients with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) necessitates highly selective criteria to maximize survival and to optimize allocation of a scarce resource. The objective of this study was to compare the outcomes of OLT for HCC in patients transplanted under Milan and UCSF criteria. The United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) database was queried for patients who had undergone OLT for HCC from 2002 to 2007, and 1,972 patients (Milan criteria,n=1,913; UCSF criteria,n=59) were identified. Patients were stratified by pretransplant criteria (Milan versus UCSF), and clinical and pathologic factors and overall survival were compared. There were no differences in age, gender, diabetes mellitus, body mass index, and hepatitis B, or C status between the two groups. Overall survival was similar between the Milan and UCSF cohorts (1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-year survival rates: 88%, 81%, 76%, and 72% versus 91%, 80%, 68% and 51%, respectively,P=0.21). Although the number of patients within UCSF criteria was small, our results nevertheless suggest that patients with HCC may have equivalent survival when transplanted under Milan and UCSF criteria. Long-term followup may better determine whether UCSF criteria should be widely adopted.


Author(s):  
Joao Seda-Neto ◽  
Flávia Feier ◽  
Renata Pugliese ◽  
Helry Candido ◽  
Rodrigo Vincenzi ◽  
...  

Background: Hepatoblastoma (HB) treatment has improved over time with established chemotherapy (Qtx) protocols, and liver resection or liver transplantation (LT). However, the right timing for LT and adequate patient selection are key to achieve acceptable disease-free survival rates in patients with unresectable HB. Few groups have reported such factors in the setting of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Procedure: This single-center retrospective analysis of 28 children with HB submitted to LDLT aimed at determining the pre-transplant factors associated with worse post-transplant event-free survival. Results: Patients were divided in groups according to the occurrence of the event (recurrence/death) after LDLT – 10 patients in the event-yes and 18 patients in the event-no. Probability of 5-y event-free survival was 63.9%. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) reduction post-Qtx > 70% had a good performance for the occurrence of the event, with a calculated AUC of 0.8. A scoring system was derived from the pre-transplant risk factors (AFP reduction < 70%, time from diagnosis to LDLT > 12 months, rescue LT) for the probability of the event: no risk factor present (15.4%), one risk factor present (33.3%), and > 2 risk factors present (66.7%), (p=0.02). Conclusion: LDLT for HB is the preferred treatment option for unresectable HB, with no distant metastasis and adequate response to Qtx. The pre-transplant factors composing the risk score should be critically evaluated in order to move forward with the LDLT. However, due to the limited number of patients in this study, a larger number of patients is required to corroborate these findings.


2015 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-376
Author(s):  
I Amir ◽  
G A Vernham

AbstractObjective:This study aimed to report our current practice of transoral laser microsurgery for early glottic cancer against the standards outlined by the ENT UK Head and Neck Group and assess the oncological outcome.Method:A retrospective review of case notes of patients diagnosed with early glottic cancer (tumour stages Tis, T1 and T2) who underwent transoral laser microsurgery as a primary curative treatment. The minimum follow-up period was two years.Results:Thirty-one patients had transoral laser microsurgery for early glottic cancer during the study period. Eighty-four per cent of cases were discussed by a multidisciplinary team prior to transoral laser microsurgery. Complete circumferential excision was achieved in 77 per cent of cases. Sixty-five per cent of specimens were subjected to histological analysis; they complied with standard pathology reporting for margins. Within 12 months of transoral laser microsurgery, there were 10 residual cases and 2 recurrences. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis gave disease-free survival rates of 96.8 per cent at 18 months and 93.5 per cent at 24 months. The laryngectomy-free survival rate was 96.8 per cent at two years.Conclusion:The findings of this audit are encouraging and have highlighted areas for further discussions, recommendations, training and education.


2019 ◽  
Vol 98 (10) ◽  

Introduction: Radical liver resection is the only method for the treatment of patients with colorectal liver metastases (CLM); however, only 20–30% of patients with CLMs can be radically treated. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is one of the possible methods of palliative treatment in such patients. Methods: RFA was performed in 381 patients with CLMs between 01 Jan 2001 and 31 Dec 2018. The mean age of the patients was 65.2±8.7 years. The male to female ratio was 2:1. Open laparotomy was done in 238 (62.5%) patients and the CT-navigated transcutaneous approach was used in 143 (37.5%) patients. CLMs <5 cm (usually <3 cm) in diameter were the indication for RFA. We used RFA as the only method in 334 (87.6%) patients; RFA in combination with resection was used in 36 (9.4%), and with multi-stage resection in 11 (3%) patients. We performed RFA in a solitary CLM in 170 (44.6%) patients, and in 2−5 CLMs in 211 (55.6%) patients. We performed computed tomography in each patient 48 hours after procedure. Results: The 30-day postoperative mortality was zero. Complications were present in 4.8% of transcutaneous and in 14.2% of open procedures, respectively, in the 30-day postoperative period. One-, 3-, 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 94.8, 66.8, 43.9 and 16.6%, respectively, in patients undergoing RFA, and 90.6, 69.1, 52.8 and 39.2%, respectively, in patients with liver resections. Disease free survival was 63.2, 30.1, 18.4 and 13.1%, respectively, in the same patients after RFA, and 71.1, 33.3, 22.8 and 15.5%, respectively, after liver resections. Conclusion: RFA is a palliative thermal ablation method, which is one of therapeutic options in patients with radically non-resectable CLMs. RFA is useful especially in a non-resectable, or resectable (but for the price of large liver resection) solitary CLM <3 cm in diameter and in CLM relapses. RFA is also part of multi-stage liver procedures.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3730
Author(s):  
Berend R. Beumer ◽  
Roeland F. de Wilde ◽  
Herold J. Metselaar ◽  
Robert A. de Man ◽  
Wojciech G. Polak ◽  
...  

For patients presenting with hepatocellular carcinoma within the Milan criteria, either liver resection or liver transplantation can be performed. However, to what extent either of these treatment options is superior in terms of long-term survival is unknown. Obviously, the comparison of these treatments is complicated by several selection processes. In this article, we comprehensively review the current literature with a focus on factors accounting for selection bias. Thus far, studies that did not perform an intention-to-treat analysis conclude that liver transplantation is superior to liver resection for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma. In contrast, studies performing an intention-to-treat analysis state that survival is comparable between both modalities. Furthermore, all studies demonstrate that disease-free survival is longer after liver transplantation compared to liver resection. With respect to the latter, implications of recurrences for survival are rarely discussed. Heterogeneous treatment effects and logical inconsistencies indicate that studies with a higher level of evidence are needed to determine if liver transplantation offers a survival benefit over liver resection. However, randomised controlled trials, as the golden standard, are believed to be infeasible. Therefore, we suggest an alternative research design from the causal inference literature. The rationale for a regression discontinuity design that exploits the natural experiment created by the widely adopted Milan criteria will be discussed. In this type of study, the analysis is focused on liver transplantation patients just within the Milan criteria and liver resection patients just outside, hereby ensuring equal distribution of confounders.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii317-iii317
Author(s):  
Eileen Gillan

Abstract Recurrent ependymomas have a dismal prognosis (2 year survival rates 29% OS and 23% EFS) and are relatively resistant to conventional chemotherapy. We previously reported five relapsed ependymoma patients treated with a MEMMAT based metronomic antiangiogenic combination therapy. All patients are currently alive, including four patients who were multiply relapsed with at least three recurrences. These four patients received between 44–52 weeks of therapy with minimal toxicity. Three had recurrent disease within an average of 44 months (median 42 months) after discontinuation of therapy. One patient who received the following tapering bevacizumab schedule: q3 weeks x 3, q4 weeks x 4 and q5 weeks x 5 followed by maintenance therapy with fenofibrate and celecoxib is in complete remission 12 months post treatment. This regimen was well tolerated with good quality of life in this patient population. Our results suggest that the chosen anti-angiogenic drug combination prolonged the time to progression in these multiply relapsed patients and thus may be particularly beneficial for patients with recurrent ependymoma. Tapered bevacizumab and maintenance therapy with celecoxib and fenofibrate may be modifications worth further investigation for prolonged disease free survival in relapsed ependymoma patients.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1289
Author(s):  
Shih-Chun Chang ◽  
Chi-Ming Tang ◽  
Puo-Hsien Le ◽  
Chia-Jung Kuo ◽  
Tsung-Hsing Chen ◽  
...  

Whether gastric adenocarcinoma (GC) patients with adjacent organ invasion (T4b) benefit from aggressive surgery involving pancreatic resection (PR) remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify the impact of PR on survival in patients with locally advanced resectable GC. Between 1995 and 2017, patients with locally advanced GC undergoing radical-intent gastrectomy with and without PR were enrolled and stratified into four groups: group 1 (G1), pT4b without pancreatic resection (PR); group 2 (G2), pT4b with PR; group 3 (G3), positive duodenal margins without Whipple’s operation; and group 4 (G4), cT4b with Whipple’s operation. Demographics, clinicopathological features, and outcomes were compared between G1 and G2 and G3 and G4. G2 patients were more likely to have perineural invasion than G1 patients (80.6% vs. 50%, p < 0.001). G4 patients had higher lymph node yield (40.8 vs. 31.3, p = 0.002), lower nodal status (p = 0.029), lower lymph node ratios (0.20 vs. 0.48, p < 0.0001) and higher complication rates (45.2% vs. 26.3%, p = 0.047) than G3 patients. The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were significantly longer in G1 than in G2 (28.1% vs. 9.3%, p = 0.003; 32% vs. 13%, p = 0.004, respectively). The 5-year survival rates did not differ between G4 and G3 (DFS: 14% vs. 14.4%, p = 0.384; OS: 12.6% vs. 16.4%, p = 0.321, respectively). In conclusion, patients with T4b lesion who underwent PR had poorer survival than those who underwent resection of other adjacent organs. Further Whipple’s operation did not improve survival in pT3–pT4 GC with positive duodenal margins.


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