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Long‐term, tumor‐free survival after radiotherapy combining hepatectomy‐Whipple en bloc and orthotopic liver transplantation for early‐stage hilar cholangiocarcinoma
Author(s) -
Wu Youmin,
Johlin Frederick C.,
Rayhill Stephen C.,
Jensen Chris S.,
Xie Jin,
Cohen Michael B.,
Mitros Frank A.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
liver transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.814
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1527-6473
pISSN - 1527-6465
DOI - 10.1002/lt.21287
Subject(s) - medicine , endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography , liver transplantation , stage (stratigraphy) , whipple procedure , surgery , pancreaticoduodenectomy , endoscopic ultrasound , radiation therapy , orthotopic liver transplantation , transplantation , radiology , pancreatitis , paleontology , resection , biology
Abstract This retrospective study reviews our experience in surveillance and early detection of cholangiocarcinoma (CC) and in using en bloc total hepatectomy–pancreaticoduodenectomy–orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT‐Whipple) to achieve complete eradication of early‐stage CC complicating primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Asymptomatic PSC patients underwent surveillance using endoscopic ultrasound and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with multilevel brushings for cytological evaluation. Patients diagnosed with CC were treated with combined extra‐beam radiotherapy, lesion‐focused brachytherapy, and OLT‐Whipple. Between 1988 and 2001, 42 of 119 PSC patients were followed according to the surveillance protocol. CC was detected in 8 patients, 6 of whom underwent OLT‐Whipple. Of those 6 patients, 4 had stage I CC, and 2 had stage II CC. All 6 OLT‐Whipple patients received combined external‐beam and brachytherapy radiotherapy. The median time from diagnosis to OLT‐Whipple was 144 days. One patient died 55 months post‐transplant of an unrelated cause, without tumor recurrence. The other 5 are well without recurrence at 5.7, 7.0, 8.7, 8.8, and 10.1 years. In conclusion, for patients with PSC, ERCP surveillance cytology and intralumenal endoscopic ultrasound examination allow for early detection of CC. Broad and lesion‐focused radiotherapy combined with OLT‐Whipple to remove the biliary epithelium en bloc offers promising long‐term, tumor‐free survival. All patients tolerated this extensive surgery well with good quality of life following surgery and recovery. These findings support consideration of the complete excision of an intact biliary tree via OLT‐Whipple in patients with early‐stage hilar CC complicating PSC. Liver Transpl 14:279–286, 2008. © 2008 AASLD.