Living-donor liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abstract

Transplant surgeons have long dreamed of achieving a complete cure for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by replacing the liver with a new graft. Although the early results of liver transplantation for HCC were disappointing, with 5-year survival less than 40%, improved results in patients who met the so-called Milan criteria rekindled the enthusiasm for the treatment of HCC with liver transplantation. Furthermore, the recent development of living-donor liver transplantation in adults has allowed timely grafting for HCC patients and tentative expansion of the criteria for transplant candidacy in patients with HCC - although such expansion is fraught with controversy. Identification of a noninvasive marker that could predict the biological behavior as well as the prognosis of HCC would indeed be a major breakthrough.

• Authors: Hiroyuki Furukawa, Tsuyoshi Shimamura, Tomomi Suzuki, Masahiko Taniguchi, Kenichiro Yamashita, Toshiya Kamiyama, Michiaki Matsushita, Satoru Todo
• Journal: Journal of hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery (J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Surg) Vol. 13 Issue 5 Pg. 393-7 ( 2006) ISSN: 0944-1166 [Print] Japan
• PMID: 17013712 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Topics

• Adult
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular (surgery)
• Humans
• Japan
• Liver Neoplasms (surgery)
• Liver Transplantation (standards)
• Living Donors
• United States