Intention-to-treat outcomes of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving immunotherapy before liver transplant: The multicenter VITALITY study.

Background & Aims: The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become widespread with encouraging outcomes in the neoadjuvant setting. Safety and intention-to-treat (ITT) outcomes in the peri-transplant setting are currently based on small and heterogenous single-center reports.

Methods: This first multiregional US study (2016-2023) included 117 consecutive patients with HCC assessed for liver transplantation (LT) and treated preoperatively with ICIs.

Significant Reduction in Posttransplant Hepatocellular Carcinoma Recurrence in the Post 6-Mo Waiting Policy Era.

Background: In 2015, the United Network for Organ Sharing implemented a policy introducing a 6-mo waiting period before granting model for end-stage liver disease exception points to liver transplant (LT) candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study analyzes the policy impact on post-LT HCC recurrence.

Methods: This was a United Network for Organ Sharing retrospective cohort study of patients with HCC who underwent LT from January 1, 2010, to May 31, 2019.

Downstaging hepatocellular carcinoma before liver transplantation: A multicenter analysis of the "all-comers" protocol in the Multicenter Evaluation of Reduction in Tumor Size before Liver Transplantation (MERITS-LT) consortium.

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma meeting united network for organ sharing (UNOS)-downstaging (DS) criteria have excellent liver transplantation (LT) outcomes after DS. However, outcomes for "all-comers" (AC) patients with tumors initially exceeding UNOS-DS are poorly understood. Patients meeting AC (n = 82) or UNOS-DS (n = 229) at 7 LT centers in 4 UNOS regions were prospectively followed from 2015-2020.

Living Donor Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Within and Outside Traditional Selection Criteria: A Multicentric North American Experience.

Objective: To evaluate long-term oncologic outcomes of patients post-living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) within and outside standard transplantation selection criteria and the added value of the incorporation of the New York-California (NYCA) score.

Background: LDLT offers an opportunity to decrease the liver transplantation waitlist, reduce waitlist mortality, and expand selection criteria for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Primary adult LDLT recipients between October 1999 and August 2019 were identified from a multicenter cohort of 12 North American centers.

Outcomes in liver transplant recipients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease-related HCC: results from the US multicenter HCC transplant consortium.

NAFLD will soon be the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT). In NAFLD, HCC may occur at earlier stages of fibrosis and present with more advanced tumor stage, raising concern for aggressive disease. Thus, adult LT recipients with HCC from 20 US centers transplanted between 2002 and 2013 were analyzed to determine whether NAFLD impacts recurrence-free post-LT survival.

The Course of LIRADS 3 and 4 Hepatic Abnormalities as Correlated With Explant Pathology: A Single Center Experience.

Background And Aims: The Liver Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) is the standard classification of imaging findings of hepatic abnormalities for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance. We aimed to study the course of LI-RADS 3 and 4 (LR-3 and LR-4) abnormalities through correlations with explant pathology.

Methods: A single center retrospective study of liver transplant recipients between January 2016 and September 2019 with HCC on explant pathology was conducted.

Association between sustained virological response and clinical outcomes in patients with hepatitis C infection and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Sustained viral response (SVR) improves survival for patients with hepatitis C (HCV) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative treatment; however, the benefit of SVR in those with active HCC with a significant competing risk of mortality is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the association between SVR and outcomes in patients with active HCC.

Methods: The authors performed a multicenter, retrospective cohort study including consecutive adults with HCV cirrhosis and treatment-naive HCC diagnosed between 2014 and 2018.

Clinical complications of liver disease in adults after the Fontan operation.

Background: The natural history and complications of Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD) are not well-characterized. We aim to describe the incidence and prevalence of and risk factors for adverse liver-related complications in FALD.

Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective cohort study of adult Fontan patients followed in an adult congenital heart disease center from 2006 to 2019.

Downstaging Outcomes for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Results From the Multicenter Evaluation of Reduction in Tumor Size before Liver Transplantation (MERITS-LT) Consortium.

Background & Aims: United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) has adopted uniform criteria for downstaging (UNOS-DS) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before liver transplantation (LT), but the downstaging success rate and intention-to-treat outcomes across broad geographic regions are unknown.

Methods: In this first multiregional study (7 centers, 4 UNOS regions), 209 consecutive patients with HCC undergoing downstaging based on UNOS-DS criteria were prospectively evaluated from 2016 to 2019.

Results: Probability of successful downstaging to Milan criteria and dropout at 2 years from the initial downstaging procedure was 87.

Multigene Panel Testing in Individuals With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Identifies Pathogenic Germline Variants.

Unlabelled: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has well-defined environmental risk factors. In addition, epidemiologic studies have suggested hereditary risk factors. The goals of this study were to determine the rate of pathogenic and likely pathogenic (P/LP) germline variants in cancer predisposition genes in patients with HCC, possible enrichment of P/LP variants in particular genes, and potential impact on clinical management.

Occult Hepatocellular Carcinoma Associated With Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunts in Liver Transplant Recipients.

Transplant eligibility for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is determined by the imaging identification of tumor burden within the Milan criteria. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(s) (TIPS) reduce portal hypertension but may impact HCC visualization. It was hypothesized that the presence of pretransplant TIPS would correlate with occult HCC and reduced survival.

Posttransplant Outcomes in Older Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Are Driven by Non-Hepatocellular Carcinoma Factors.

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is growing in the United States, especially among the elderly. Older patients are increasingly receiving transplants as a result of HCC, but the impact of advancing age on long-term posttransplant outcomes is not clear. To study this, we used data from the US Multicenter HCC Transplant Consortium of 4980 patients.

Immune benefit of combined heart and liver transplantation.

Purpose Of Review: Understanding the mechanisms involved in immune protection provided by a hepatic allograft is imperative as further therapies for highly sensitized patients could be developed and thus expanding the donor pool and improving outcomes.

Recent Findings: The clinical data from immune protection comes mainly from combined liver and kidney transplants with excellent results in overall survival and also that of the allograft. This phenomenon has also been observed in dual liver transplants with heart, lung, skin and intestines, albeit with less data.

Predictors, Presentation, and Treatment Outcomes of Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Liver Transplantation: A Large Single Center Experience.

Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is an accepted therapeutic option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with cirrhosis. Despite careful candidate selection, HCC recurrence occurs. We aimed to describe the predictors of recurrence, clinical presentation, and predictors of survival after HCC recurrence post-LT.

Risk Factors and Center-Level Variation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Under-Staging for Liver Transplantation.

Liver transplantation (LT) is curative for most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, 10%-15% of patients experience HCC recurrence. Patients who are reported as within Milan criteria by imaging are frequently found to be outside the criteria on explant.

Liver Transplantation Outcomes in a U.S. Multicenter Cohort of 789 Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Presenting Beyond Milan Criteria.

Background And Aims: The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network recently approved liver transplant (LT) prioritization for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) beyond Milan Criteria (MC) who are down-staged (DS) with locoregional therapy (LRT). We evaluated post-LT outcomes, predictors of down-staging, and the impact of LRT in patients with beyond-MC HCC from the U.S.

Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy for Hepatitis C Virus Infection Is Associated With Increased Survival in Patients With a History of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background & Aims: There is controversy regarding the benefits of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection for patients with a history of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We performed a multicenter cohort study to compare overall survival between patients with HCV infection treated with DAAs and patients who did not receive DAA treatment for their HCV infection after complete response to prior HCC therapy.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with HCV-related HCC who achieved a complete response to resection, local ablation, transarterial chemo- or radioembolization, or radiation therapy, from January 2013 through December 2017 at 31 health care systems throughout the United States and Canada.