HCC influence on patient survival after liver transplantation for HDV cirrhosis.

Background/aims: The effect of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) in patients transplanted for hepatitis B and D virus (HB/DV) cirrhosis is not well studied. Our aim was to study the long-term survival outcomes of patients who underwent liver transplantation for HB/DV cirrhosis with and without HCC.

Methodology: A total of 231 primary, adult, single- organ liver transplants were performed from 1990 to 2007. HB/DV was the cause of cirrhosis in 36 patients. Nine patients died during the first 3 postoperative months from surgical complications. The study group comprised the remaining 27 patients. The median follow-up was 1515 days.

Results: The mean patient survival was 3760 days (95% CI: 3013-4507). Six patients were diagnosed with HCC. The mean patient survival was 3011 days (95% CI: 2344-3679) and 4036 days (95% CI: 3002-5070) for recipients without and with HCC, respectively. For the same groups, the incidence of microbial infections was 61.9% and 33.3%, respectively (p=0.219). HCC has not recurred in any of the six patients.

Conclusions: The mean long-term survival after liver transplantation for HB/DV and HCC surpassed 11 years. The superior survival of HCC patients is difficult to explain. The increased number (almost double) of microbial infections in the non- HCC population might be held accountable.