title: Preoperative human-telomerase reverse transcriptase mRNA in peripheral blood and tumor recurrence in living-related liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study we evaluated the potential role of preoperative h-TERT mRNA expression in peripheral blood as a tool for predicting prognosis and tumor recurrence after living-related liver donor transplantation (LRLDT).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included patients with unresectable HCC who underwent LRLDT from July 1999 to May 2003.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant difference between the survival curves of those patients who met the Milan criteria and those who did not. However, there was a statistically significant difference (p=0.032) between the survival curves of those patients with positive preoperative h-TERT mRNA expression, and those who either had an initially negative preoperative h-TERT mRNA or who converted from positive to negative after neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, the presence or absence of h-TERT mRNA in the peripheral blood may be a useful criterion in evaluating HCC patients for transplantation, as well as a valuable method of assessing anti-tumor therapy and tumor relapse.
authors.affiliation: Division of Digestive and General Surgery, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan. kanishok@med.niigata-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oya
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakatsuka
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeishi
authors.forename: Kenichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Takaoki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Waguri
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suda
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichida
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aoyagi
authors.forename: Katsuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hatakeyama
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D019520:Living Donors; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000097:blood*; D011379:Prognosis; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D019098:Telomerase