Liver transplantation for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma at the Liver Cancer Institute of Fudan University, China

Background Selection of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) remains controversial. Since there is a trend to expand the transplant criteria for HCC patients, we reviewed the data of patients with HCC who had received OLT at our institute to determine their survival and prognostic factors.Methods A total of 67 patients with HCC who had undergone OLT from April 2001 through December 2003 were reviewed retrospectively. Selection OLT candidates with HCC was dependent on the anatomical characteristics and/or the severity of underlying liver cirrhosis. The 67 patients were followed up for more than 6 months after transplantation. Their survival rate was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses using the Cox proportional hazards regression model were performed to reveal the factors affecting the survival rate.Results No perioperative death occurred in this series. The 1- and 2-year cumulative survival rates were 90.0% and 65.6%, and the disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 77.5% and 62.5% respectively. Univariate analysis revealed the tumor size, portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT), serum alpha-fetoprotein level, bilobular distribution of tumors, pTNM stage and histological differentiation were statistically significant factors affecting the DFS (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed tumor size and PVTT were independent and statistically significant factors affecting the DFS (P=0.005 and 0.010, respectively). In this series, all but 2 received systemic chemotherapy, among them 13 had tumor recurrence within 8 months after OLT. Conclusions OLT is indicated for patients with HCC, even for some patients with end-stage liver disease who may survive longer without tumor recurrence. Adjuvant chemotherapy may decrease the recurrence of HCC after OLT.