Transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma.
Three criteria should be met for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to be eligible for surgical resection: there should be no metastatic disease, there should be no bilobar disease, and the patient should be left with adequate hepatic reserve after surgery. Given the association of severe liver disease with HCC, these criteria are met by less than 30% of patients. In contrast, transplantation does not require that the second and third criteria be met in patients who are otherwise candidates for this procedure. Most reports have demonstrated that patients with tumors greater than 5 cm in size or patients with more than four tumors have low 5-year survival rates after transplantation, but the survival rates with smaller tumors are much better and it has even been suggested that survival may approach that of transplantation for nonmalignant conditions. This presentation will discuss the role and indications for transplantation as definitive therapy for HCC.
Kashef
E
E
Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, London, UK.
Roberts
J P
JP
D000465:Algorithms; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery* / Q000821:virology; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D016461:Chemoembolization, Therapeutic; D006498:Hepatectomy; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery* / Q000821:virology; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed