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Living‐donor liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma
Author(s) -
Furukawa Hiroyuki,
Shimamura Tsuyoshi,
Suzuki Tomomi,
Taniguchi Masahiko,
Yamashita Kenichiro,
Kamiyama Toshiya,
Matsushita Michiaki,
Todo Satoru
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of hepato‐biliary‐pancreatic surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.63
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1868-6982
pISSN - 0944-1166
DOI - 10.1007/s00534-005-1079-8
Subject(s) - hepatocellular carcinoma , medicine , candidacy , liver transplantation , milan criteria , transplantation , living donor liver transplantation , gastroenterology , oncology , surgery , politics , political science , law
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.