Liver transplantation for HCC: its role

Liver transplantation (LT) is the only treatment that offers a chance of cure for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the underlying liver cirrhosis simultaneously, but the availability of liver grafts and the aggressiveness of tumor recurrence are critical limiting factors of LT for patients with HCC. In most Asian countries, the serious shortage of deceased donors and the strong demand for LT has lead to the development of living-donor LT (LDLT) as a practical alternative replacing deceased-donor LT (DDLT). Grafts in Western countries are issued from DDLT and graft allocations are under the responsibilities of state agencies which apply strict rules based on the MELD (model for end-stage liver disease) score. Considering that HCC recurrence is the most common cause of post-transplant patient death, recipient candidates should be prudently selected through objectively established criteria. Points in addition to the MELD score can be allotted to patients with HCC providing that the HCC remains within the Milan criteria. The increasing number of LT candidates with HCC results in increasing waiting periods, which necessitate the consideration of pretransplant treatment of HCC, including partial liver resection. Both specific Western units and some Asian major LDLT centers have challenged the Milan criteria. The eligibility criteria of both DDLT and LDLT for HCC are likely to be expanded more than before, but this still requires further qualified risk–benefit analyses. The development of new effective treatment modalities before LT and for HCC recurrence might expand the selection criteria further without incurring an increased recurrence rate.