Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: experience at an Australian transplantation unit

The author experienced 11 cases of orthotopic liver transplantation (LTx) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Sydney, Australia, series. LTx was selected in 5 cases for the treatment of HCC and in 6 for terminal liver failure. Three patients had new lesions, which were not detected on preoperative imaging, and 5 had vascular or extrahepatic infiltrations. Two patients with hepatitis C had recurrence of hepatitis at an early stage. Two had tumor recurrence, one of which had 7 lesions with invasion to the vessels and bare area. Thus some problems remain in LTx for HCC, including the recurrence of hepatitis in hepatitis C and tumor recurrence in cases with high-risk factors based on the pathologic findings.