International study on the outcome of locoregional therapy for liver transplant in hepatocellular carcinoma beyond Milan criteria

oleh: Helena Degroote, Federico Piñero, Charlotte Costentin, Andrea Notarpaolo, Ilka F. Boin, Karim Boudjema, Cinzia Baccaro, Aline Lopes Chagas, Philippe Bachellier, Giuseppe Maria Ettorre, Jaime Poniachik, Fabrice Muscari, Fabrio Di Benedetto, Sergio Hoyos Duque, Ephrem Salame, Umberto Cillo, Adrián Gadano, Claire Vanlemmens, Stefano Fagiuoli, Fernando Rubinstein, Patrizia Burra, Daniel Cherqui, Marcelo Silva, Hans Van Vlierberghe, Christophe Duvoux, Karim Boudjema, Philippe Bachellier, Filomena Conti, Olivier Scatton, Fabrice Muscari, Ephrem Salame, Pierre Henri Bernard, Claire Francoz, Francois Durand, Sébastien Dharancy, Marie-lorraine Woehl, Claire Vanlemmens, Alexis Laurent, Sylvie Radenne, Jérôme Dumortier, Armand Abergel, Daniel Cherqui, Louise Barbier, Pauline Houssel-Debry, Georges Philippe Pageaux, Laurence Chiche, Victor Deledinghen, Jean Hardwigsen, J. Gugenheim, M. Altieri, Marie Noelle Hilleret, Thomas Decaens, Daniel Cherqui, Christophe Duvoux, Federico Piñero, Aline Chagas, Paulo Costa, Elaine Cristina de Ataide, Emilio Quiñones, Sergio Hoyos Duque, Sebastián Marciano, Margarita Anders, Adriana Varón, Alina Zerega, Jaime Poniachik, Alejandro Soza, Martín Padilla Machaca, Diego Arufe, Josemaría Menéndez, Rodrigo Zapata, Mario Vilatoba, Linda Muñoz, Ricardo Chong Menéndez, Martín Maraschio, Luis G. Podestá, M. Fauda, A. Gonzalez Campaña, Lucas McCormack, Juan Mattera, Adrian Gadano, Ilka S.F. Fatima Boin, Jose Huygens Parente García, Flair Carrilho, Marcelo Silva, Andrea Notarpaolo, Giulia Magini, Lucia Miglioresi, Martina Gambato, Fabrizio Di Benedetto, Cecilia D’Ambrosio, Giuseppe Maria Ettorre, Alessandro Vitale, Patrizia Burra, Stefano Fagiuoli, Umberto Cillo, Michele Colledan, Domenico Pinelli, Paolo Magistri, Giovanni Vennarecci, Marco Colasanti, Valerio Giannelli, Adriano Pellicelli, Cizia Baccaro, Helena Degroote, Hans Van Vlierberghe, Callebout Eduard, Iesari Samuele, Dekervel Jeroen, Schreiber Jonas, Pirenne Jacques, Verslype Chris, Ysebaert Dirk, Michielsen Peter, Lucidi Valerio, Moreno Christophe, Detry Olivier, Delwaide Jean, Troisi Roberto, Lerut Jan Paul

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Elsevier 2021-10-01

Deskripsi

Background &amp; Aims: Good outcomes after liver transplantation (LT) have been reported after successfully downstaging to Milan criteria in more advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to compare post-LT outcomes in patients receiving locoregional therapies (LRT) before LT according to Milan criteria and University of California San Francisco downstaging (UCSF-DS) protocol and ‘all-comers’. Methods: This multicentre cohort study included patients who received any LRT before LT from Europe and Latin America (2000–2018). We excluded patients with alpha-foetoprotein (AFP) above 1,000 ng/ml. Competing risk regression analysis for HCC recurrence was conducted, estimating subdistribution hazard ratios (SHRs) and corresponding 95% CIs. Results: From 2,441 LT patients, 70.1% received LRT before LT (n = 1,711). Of these, 80.6% were within Milan, 12.0% within UCSF-DS, and 7.4% all-comers. Successful downstaging was achieved in 45.2% (CI 34.8–55.8) and 38.2% (CI 25.4–52.3) of the UCSF-DS group and all-comers, respectively. The risk of recurrence was higher for all-comers (SHR 6.01 [p <0.0001]) and not significantly higher for the UCSF-DS group (SHR 1.60 [p = 0.32]), compared with patients remaining within Milan. The all-comers presented more frequent features of aggressive HCC and higher tumour burden at explant. Among the UCSF-DS group, an AFP value of ≤20 ng/ml at listing was associated with lower recurrence (SHR 2.01 [p = 0.006]) and better survival. However, recurrence was still significantly high irrespective of AFP ≤20 ng/ml in all-comers. Conclusions: Patients within the UCSF-DS protocol at listing have similar post-transplant outcomes compared with those within Milan when successfully downstaged. Meanwhile, all-comers have a higher recurrence and inferior survival irrespective of response to LRT. Additionally, in the UCSF-DS group, an ALP of ≤20 ng/ml might be a novel tool to optimise selection of candidates for LT. Clinical trial number: This study was registered as part of an open public registry (NCT03775863). Lay summary: Patients with more extended HCC (within the UCSF-DS protocol) successfully downstaged to the conventional Milan criteria do not have a higher recurrence rate after LT compared with the group remaining in the Milan criteria from listing to transplantation. Moreover, in the UCSF-DS patient group, an ALP value equal to or below 20 ng/ml at listing might be a novel tool to further optimise selection of candidates for LT.