346 Background: The effect of bridging locoregional therapies (LRT) on overall survival (OS) in pts with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) has not been investigated in large-scale population studies. Methods: TheUnited Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database was used to identify pts with HCC who received OLT between 2002 and 2010. Pts within Milan Criteria for whom an HCC Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) exception was approved were included. OS was compared between pts who received bridging LRT (including transarterial chemoembolization (TACE)) and those who did not. Kaplan-Meier estimation and Cox proportional hazard models were used for OS analysis. Results: Of 11,287 pts with HCC who received OLT, 9,876 pts had LRT data, mean age 56.6 yrs, 77% male; 5,103 received bridging LRT, including 3,676 who received TACE. Comparison groups were similar for age at OLT, waitlist duration, sex, race, BMI and MELD score (p>.05 for all). Significantly prolonged OS with bridging LRT vs. none was observed from both OLT (111.6 vs 106.4 mo, p<.001) and from Listing (176.1 vs 169.4 mo, p=.001). Similarly, significantly prolonged OS with bridging TACE vs. none was observed from both OLT (112.0 vs 107.2 mo, p<.001) and from Listing (177.7 vs 169.9 mo, p=.001). Conclusions: In HCC pts undergoing OLT, both bridging LRT and TACE correlated with prolonged survival from OLT and from Listing in a UNOS population-based study. [Table: see text]