Background: Although the Milan criteria are widely accepted for liver transplantation (LT) in patients for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), they have not been fully evaluated for salvage LT in patients with recurrent HCC. We have previously reported outcomes of living-donor LT (LDLT) for HCC and identified 2 risk factors affecting recurrence-free survival (RFS): tumor size >5 cm and des-γ-carboxyl prothrombin (DCP) concentration >300 mAU/mL (Kyushu University criteria). This study was designed to clarify risk factors for tumor recurrence after LDLT in patients with recurrent HCC.
Methods: Outcomes in 114 patients who underwent LDLT for recurrent HCC were analyzed retrospectively. RFS rates after LDLT were calculated, and risk factors for tumor recurrence were identified.
Results: The 1-, 3-, and 5-year RFS rates after LDLT were 90.6%, 80.4%, and 78.8%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that tumor recurrence was associated with alpha-fetoprotein concentration ≥ 300 ng/mL, DCP concentration ≥ 300 mAU/mL, tumor number ≥ 4, tumor size ≥ 5 cm, transarterial chemotherapy before LDLT, duration of last treatment of HCC to LDLT <3 months, bilobar distribution, exceeding Milan criteria, exceeding Kyushu University criteria, poor differentiation, and histologic vascular invasion. Multivariate analysis showed that DCP ≥ 300 mAU/mL (P = .03) and duration from last treatment to LDLT <3 months (P = .01) were independent predictors of RFS.
Conclusions: DCP concentration and time between last treatment and LDLT are prognostic of RFS in patients undergoing LDLT for HCC.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.