University of California, San Francisco researchers are proposing changes to the current criteria for liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of primary liver cancer, accounting for 9 in 10 cases among adults.
Current guidelines for qualification for a liver transplant among HCC patients are known as the Milan criteria and they include:
- One tumor smaller than 5 cm OR One to three tumors smaller than 3 cm
- No extrahepatic manifestations
- No vascular invasion.
These guidelines were originally established because they identified a patient population with the best prognosis post-transplant, but San Francisco researchers are arguing that as HCC diagnoses go up, the criteria should be broadened so that more patients are eligible for the treatment.
Liver cancer is a common cause of cancer death among both men (sixth) and women (ninth).
CANCER TYPE(S)
Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)
TREATMENT TYPE(S)
Organ transplant
WHERE WAS THIS RESEARCH PUBLISHED?
The journal Liver Transplantation
By Ross Bonander
Citation
Roberts JP et al. "Hepatocellular carcinoma: Ablate and wait versus rapid transplantation." Liver Transplantation. 2010:16:925-929 DOI: 10.1002/lt.22103
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