[New oncological indications for liver transplantation].

Transplantation oncology represents a specificity of liver transplantation. Hepatocellular carcinoma is now an accepted indication with very good long-term results. Cholangiocarcinoma, hepatic -metastases from colorectal cancer and neuroendocrine tumors are emerging indications with outcome superior to those that can be achieved with systemic treatments in very selected patients.

Prognostic scores for ursodeoxycholic acid-treated patients predict graft loss and mortality in recurrent primary biliary cholangitis after liver transplantation.

Background & Aims: Recurrent primary biliary cholangitis (rPBC) develops in approximately 30% of patients and negatively impacts graft and overall patient survival after liver transplantation (LT). There is a lack of data regarding the response rate to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in rPBC. We evaluated a large, international, multi-center cohort to assess the performance of PBC scores in predicting the risk of graft and overall survival after LT in patients with rPBC.

A false positive hair ethylglucuronide dosage in an alcohol abstinent patient after liver transplantation: a case report.

The use of direct alcohol biomarkers (ethylglucuronide and phosphatidylethanol) has recently been implemented in a clinical setting. Due to their low alcohol detection threshold, high sensitivity, and specificity, these tools are very useful in the pre- and post-liver transplantation setting, where the history and physical signs are not always reliable. However, the interpretation of the results can sometimes be misleading and must be integrated into a global clinical evaluation and, more importantly, in the clinical context of each patient.

Prediction of cardiovascular risk in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving anti-angiogenic drugs: lessons from sorafenib.

Antiangiogenics are associated with an increased risk of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACE). The identification of at-risk subjects is relevant in the case of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), for which anti-angiogenic TKIs and bevacizumab are used in first and subsequent lines of therapy, to select alternative drugs for patients with excessive risk. We verified the ability to predict MACE in sorafenib-treated patients of the 2022 European Society of Cardiology (ESC-2022) score for anti-angiogenics and the recently proposed CARDIOSOR score.

Recent outcomes of liver transplantation for Budd-Chiari syndrome: A study of the European Liver Transplant Registry (ELTR) and affiliated centers.

Background And Aims: Management of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) has improved over the last decades. The main aim was to evaluate the contemporary post-liver transplant (post-LT) outcomes in Europe.

Approach And Results: Data from all patients who underwent transplantation from 1976 to 2020 was obtained from the European Liver Transplant Registry (ELTR).

Comparative Analysis of Subclassification Systems in Patients with Intermediate-Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Barcelona Clinic Liver Classification B) Receiving Systemic Therapy.

Background: Intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (BCLC B HCC) occurs in a heterogeneous group of patients and can be addressed with a wide spectrum of treatments. Consequently, survival significantly varies among patients. In recent years, several subclassification systems have been proposed to stratify patients' prognosis.

[Liver transplantation in adults : choosing the appropriate candidate and timing].

Liver transplantation is the best treatment option for patients with end-stage liver failure, as well as for various oncological (hepatic or extrahepatic), metabolic and genetic indications. Cirrhosis and its complications represent the most frequent indication for transplantation. This treatment option should be considered for cirrhotic patients with significant liver failure, the development of hepatocellular carcinoma or when complications linked to portal hypertension appear.

[Updated recommandations for the follow-up of a patient with cirrhosis].

A close collaboration between the general practitioner and the gastroenterologist is necessary to optimize the management of a patient with cirrhosis, a frequent and serious complication of chronic liver diseases. Both the treatment of the etiological factor of liver disease and the surveillance of potential complications of cirrhosis are key issues in the proper management of cirrhosis. Preventive measures aim at keeping the patient in a compensated form of cirrhosis which is associated with a better survival.

Prognostic Impact of Metastatic Site in Patients Receiving First-Line Sorafenib Therapy for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Extrahepatic spread is a well-known negative prognostic factor in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The prognostic role of different metastatic sites and their response rate to systemic treatment is still being debated. We considered 237 metastatic HCC patients treated with sorafenib as first-line therapy in five different Italian centers from 2010 to 2020.

Utilization of livers donated after circulatory death for transplantation - An international comparison.

Background & Aims: Liver graft utilization rates are a hot topic due to the worldwide organ shortage and the increasing number of transplant candidates on waiting lists. Liver perfusion techniques have been introduced in several countries, and may help to increase the organ supply, as they potentially enable the assessment of livers before use.

Methods: Liver offers were counted from donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors (Maastricht type III) arising during the past decade in eight countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.

Alternative forms of portal vein revascularization in liver transplant recipients with complex portal vein thrombosis.

Background & Aims: Complex portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a challenge in liver transplantation (LT). Extra-anatomical approaches to portal revascularization, including renoportal (RPA), left gastric vein (LGA), pericholedochal vein (PCA), and cavoportal (CPA) anastomoses, have been described in case reports and series. The RP4LT Collaborative was created to record cases of alternative portal revascularization performed for complex PVT.

Use of statins after liver transplantation is associated with improved survival: results of a nationwide study.

Background: There is limited information on the effects of statins on the outcomes of liver transplantation (LT), regarding either their use by LT recipients or donors.

Aim: To analyse the association between statin exposure and recipient and graft survival.

Methods: We included adult LT recipients with deceased donors in a nationwide prospective database study.

Beneficial Prognostic Effects of Aspirin in Patients Receiving Sorafenib for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Tale of Multiple Confounders.

Case-control observational studies suggested that aspirin might prevent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in high-risk patients, even if randomized clinical trials are lacking. Information regarding aspirin in subjects who already developed HCC, especially in its advanced stage, are scarce. While aspirin might be a low-cost option to improve the prognosis, multiple confounders and safety concerns are to be considered.

Management of transthyretin amyloidosis.

Transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR amyloidosis) is a disease caused by deposition of transthyretin fibrils in organs and tissues, which causes their dysfunction. The clinical heterogeneity of ATTR amyloidosis and the variable presentation of symptoms at early disease stages, historically meant treatment delays. Diagnostic tools and therapy options of ATTR amyloidosis have markedly improved in recent years.

COVID-19 in liver transplant candidates: pretransplant and post-transplant outcomes - an ELITA/ELTR multicentre cohort study.

Objective: Explore the impact of COVID-19 on patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation (LT) and on their post-LT course.

Design: Data from consecutive adult LT candidates with COVID-19 were collected across Europe in a dedicated registry and were analysed.

Results: From 21 February to 20 November 2020, 136 adult cases with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from 33 centres in 11 European countries were collected, with 113 having COVID-19.

Management of Acute Wilsonian Hepatitis with Severe Hemolysis: A Successful Combination of Chelation and MARS Dialysis.

Wilson's disease is a rare hereditary disorder of copper metabolism leading to progressive accumulation of copper in several organs including the brain and the liver. Acute liver failure is a relatively rare hepatic manifestation of WD which may require urgent liver transplantation if medical treatment fails. We report here the case of a young woman who presented with classic acute Wilsonian hepatitis complicated by liver and renal failure and a severe hemolysis related to massive nonceruloplasmin bound copper accumulation requiring repeated blood transfusions.

Comparison of Prognostic Scores in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated With Sorafenib.

Introduction: Prognostic classifications for patients treated with sorafenib for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) facilitate stratification in trials and inform clinical decision making. Recently, 3 different prognostic models (hepatoma arterial-embolization prognosis [HAP] score, sorafenib advanced HCC prognosis [SAP] score, and Prediction Of Survival in Advanced Sorafenib-treated HCC [PROSASH]-II) have been proposed specifically for patients treated with sorafenib. This study aimed to compare the prognostic performance of different scores.

Protective Role of Tacrolimus, Deleterious Role of Age and Comorbidities in Liver Transplant Recipients With Covid-19: Results From the ELITA/ELTR Multi-center European Study.

Background And Aims: Despite concerns that liver transplant (LT) recipients may be at increased risk of unfavorable outcomes from COVID-19 due the high prevalence of co-morbidities, immunosuppression and ageing, a detailed analysis of their effects in large studies is lacking.

Methods: Data from adult LT recipients with laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV2 infection were collected across Europe. All consecutive patients with symptoms were included in the analysis.

Integrating three comprehensive data sets shows that mitochondrial DNA variation is linked to species traits and paleogeographic events in European butterflies.

Understanding the dynamics of biodiversity, including the spatial distribution of genetic diversity, is critical for predicting responses to environmental changes, as well as for effective conservation measures. This task requires tracking changes in biodiversity at large spatial scales and correlating with species functional traits. We provide three comprehensive resources to understand the determinants for mitochondrial DNA differentiation represented by (a) 15,609 COI sequences and (b) 14 traits belonging to 307 butterfly species occurring in Western-Central Europe and (c) the first multi-locus phylogenetic tree of all European butterfly species.

Validation of the AFP model as a predictor of HCC recurrence in patients with viral hepatitis-related cirrhosis who had received a liver transplant for HCC.

Background & Aims: The AFP model was shown to be superior to the Milan criteria for predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after liver transplantation in a French population. Our aim was to test the AFP model in a non-French, post-hepatitic cirrhosis-based population of HCC candidates.

Methods: 574 patients transplanted for HCC in four Italian centers were studied.

[Therapeutic decisions and treatment with sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma: final analysis of GIDEON study in Italy].

Introduction: Sorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, is the only targeted agent approved for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after demonstration to increase overall survival compared to placebo in two randomized phase III study. GIDEON (Global Investigation of therapeutic DEcisions in HCC and Of its treatment with sorafeNib) is the largest, global, non-interventional, prospective study of patients with uHCC (n>3200) treated with sorafenib in real-life clinical practice conditions. Here we report the final analysis of safety and efficacy in the Italian cohort of patients.

C-11 acetate does not enhance usefulness of F-18 FDG PET/CT in differentiating between focal nodular hyperplasia and hepatic adenoma.

Purpose Of The Report: We assessed the usefulness of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) and C-11 acetate PET (AC PET) in distinguishing hepatic lesions due to consequential disease (hepatocellular adenoma and malignant lesions) from focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) in patients at low risk of malignancy.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-one patients with 43 lesions were prospectively enrolled. The diagnostic work-up included Doppler and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography, contrast-enhanced computed tomography, and/or magnetic resonance imaging.

Telangiectasia as a presenting sign of Graves' disease.

Acquired nevoid telangiectasia (ANT) is observed in several conditions including primary cutaneous disorders, systemic autoimmune disease and hyperestrogenism occurring in puberty, pregnancy and chronic liver disease. We describe a patient in whom ANT was a presenting sign of autoimmune hyperthyroidism, which improved after thyroidectomy. A 43-year-old Caucasian woman experienced an asymptomatic development of multiple widespread red skin lesions, diagnosed to be ANT.