Abstracts of the 2021 Annual meeting of the ALEH (Asociación Latinoamericana para el Estudio del Hígado)
More infoDown-staging (DS) is used to convert hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients outside the criteria for liver transplantation (LT) into patients within the criteria. However, LT after DS remains controversial in the literature.
AimsCompare the post-LT survival and recurrence risk of HCC patients transplanted after DS with patients transplanted within the Brazilian selection criteria.
MethodsWe conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study, analyzing medical records of 1,119 liver transplant recipients with HCC in Brazil. HCC treatment prior to LT and whether or not the patient was enrolled after down-staging was analyzed. Survival curves were presented using the Kaplan-Meier and compared using the log-rank test. Univariate and multiple cox regression analysis was fitted.
Results1,119 patients were included. 81% were males and mean age in the time of LT was 58 ± 8.2 years. In the majority of patients (91%) HCC was the reason for inclusion in transplant list and 8% of patients were listed after successful DS. At HCC diagnosis, 85% of patients were within Milan Criteria. TACE was the most frequent treatment performed. The overall survival (OS) of the entire series was 63% in 5 years, with an average follow-up time of 28 months and post-LT HCC recurrence was 8%. Relapse-free survival and OS, respectively, over 5 years, were 78% and 83% in DS patients and 75% and 89% in patients transplanted within criteria, with no statistical difference in the two analyzes. Evaluation of prognostic factors using simple and multiple Cox Regression did not show that DS was a risk factor for a worse survival or post-LT tumor recurrence.
ConclusionsIn our study, patients underwent DS show good post-transplant evolution, similar to those transplanted within criteria, suggesting that response to treatment is a good selection parameter for tumors with favorable tumor biology.
