The outcome of liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States between 1988 and 2001: 5-year survival has improved significantly with time

Trends in post-liver transplant survival in patients with hepatitis C between 1991 and 2001 in the United States

It has been suggested that the post-liver transplantation (LT) survival rate of patients with hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) has declined in recent years. To compare the outcome of LT in patients with HCV at various time intervals between 1991 and 2001, we used United Network for Organ Sharing data to compare the post-LT survival of adult patients (age >18 years) with HCV with those without HCV. Of the 37,101 patients who underwent LT during the study period, 28,193 patients (HCV 7,459 and 20,734 non-HCV) were eligible for the study. On the basis of the time of transplantation, patients were divided into 3 groups: 1991-1993 (period 1), 1994-1997 (period 2), and 1998-2001 (period 3). The patient and graft survival rates were adjusted for other known confounding variables that influenced outcomes. The 3-year patient survival rate was lower in HCV patients compared with non-HCV recipients (78.5% vs. 81.4%, hazard ratio 1.14, 95% confidence interval 1.05-1.23, P = 0.001). The graft (72.8%, 71.0%, and 69.8%) and patient (77.4%, 79.6%, and 78.5%) survival of HCV patients remained unchanged during study periods 1-3, respectively. However, the graft and patient survival rates of non-HCV recipients improved markedly during study periods 2 and 3 compared with period 1. The graft and patient survival has remained unchanged between 1991 and 2001 in HCV recipients, but during the same period, there was a great improvement in survival among non-HCV recipients.

Frequent epigenetic inactivation of spleen tyrosine kinase gene in human hepatocellular carcinoma

PURPOSE

The aim of present study was to investigate the methylation and expression status of spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to evaluate this information for its ability to predict disease prognosis. E-cadherin and TIMP-3 methylation was also analyzed here as control because both were associated with poor prognosis in some types of tumors.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

We analyzed the methylation status of SYK, E-cadherin, and TIMP-3 in 124 cases of HCC and assessed the correlation of such methylations with clinicopathologic variables and prognosis after tumor resection.

RESULTS

We found that SYK, E-cadherin, and TIMP-3 genes were methylated in 27%, 27%, and 42% of HCC neoplastic tissues, respectively. The loss of SYK mRNA or Syk protein expression was highly correlated with SYK gene methylation. The patients with methylated SYK in neoplastic tissues had a significantly lower overall survival rate after hepatectomy than those with unmethylated SYK. No significant difference in overall survival rates, however, was found between groups of patients with methylated and unmethylated E-cadherin or TIMP-3. Patients with negative Syk protein expression had a significantly lower overall survival rate than those with positive Syk protein expression. Multivariate analyses indicated that factors affecting overall survival were tumor-node-metastasis stage, Child-Pugh classification, SYK methylation, or Syk protein status.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that SYK methylation and loss of Syk expression in HCC neoplastic tissues are independent biomarkers of poor patient outcome and that determination of SYK methylation or Syk expression status may offer guidance for selecting appropriate treatments.

A randomized controlled trial of Licartin for preventing hepatoma recurrence after liver transplantation

Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the only curative therapy of HCC with underlying cirrhosis, but due to HCC metastasis and recurrence, its benefit is limited to a small population who meet the strict selection criteria. We previously reported that Licartin ([131I] mAb HAb18G/CD147) was safe and effective in treating HCC patients, and its antigen, HAb18G/CD147, was closely related to HCC invasion and metastasis. Here, we reported a randomized controlled trial to assess the post-OLT antirecurrence efficacy of Licartin in advanced HCC patients. We randomized 60 post-OLT patients with HCC, who were at tumor stage 3/4 and outside the Milan criteria before OLT, into 2 groups. Three weeks after OLT, the treatment group received 15.4 MBq/kg of Licartin, while the control group received placebo intravenously for 3 times with an interval of 28 days. At 1-year follow-up, the recurrence rate significantly decreased by 30.4% (P = 0.0174) and the survival rate increased by 20.6% (P = 0.0289) in the treatment group, compared with those in the control group. For the control group versus the treatment group, the hazard ratio for recurrence was 3.60 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.50-8.60) and that for death was 3.87 (95% CI, 1.23-12.21). Licartin treatment also resulted in an earlier decreased AFP level and a longer time of normal AFP level than placebo (P = 0.0016). No Licartin-related toxic effects were observed.

CONCLUSION

Licartin is a promising drug for preventing post-OLT tumor recurrence in advanced HCC patients excluded by the currently strict criteria for OLT. HAb18G/CD147 can be a good drug target.

Surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with cirrhotic esophageal varices and hypersplenism: a 184 case report

In treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with advanced cirrhosis, one of the most difficult problems is concomitant esophageal varices and hypersplenism. Whether these conditions should be treated surgically in association with HCC resection is still in debate. To elucidate whether esophageal devascularization or splenectomy is beneficial when simultaneously performed with liver resection in HCC patients with both varices and hypersplenism, HCC patients (n = 184) with esophageal varices and hypersplenism received one of the three treatments: simultaneous liver resection and esophageal devascularization (Group I, n = 41); simultaneous liver resection and splenectomy (Group II, n = 61); liver resection only (Group III, n = 82). The incidences of postoperative complications of the three groups were 31.7%, 29.5% and 24.4%, respectively, with no significant difference among them. The 5-year tumor-free survival rates for the group I, group II and group III were 34.1%, 36.1% and 37.8%, respectively. Variceal bleeding caused death by only 4.2% in group I, but by 14.3% in group II and 23.2% in group III. The survival rates in the group I and the group II were comparable to those in the group III, however, the recurrences of postoperative fatal variceal bleeding in group I and group II were significantly lower than those in group III. The results suggest that HCC patients with esophageal varices and hypersplenism should undergo hepatic resection plus esophageal devascularization or splenectomy if radical resection of HCC can be expected.

Rapamycin inhibits cell growth by induction of apoptosis on hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro

BACKGROUND

Rapamycin, isolated from Streptomyces hygroscopicus, is recently reported to have immunosuppressant and anti-tumor effects on a large variety of cancers. To date, no detailed data are available about the effects of rapamycin on hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

OBJECTIVE

In this study, the anti-proliferation effects of rapamycin on hepatocellular carcinoma cells BEL-7402 and HepG-2 in vitro were studied.

METHODS

Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay and [3H]-thymidine uptake, cell apoptosis was observed by Hoechst 33258 staining and flow cytometry (FCM). The variation of caspase-3 and apoptotic related genes was assayed by Western blotting, cell mitochondrial membrane potential was also investigated by using standard methods.

RESULTS

Rapamycin could inhibit the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and cause apoptosis significantly; the suppression was both in time- and dose-dependent manner, marked morphological changes of cell apoptosis were observed very clearly by Hoechst 33258 staining. Rapamycin exhibits induction apoptosis by activation of caspase-3 and disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential on hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro. Western blotting analysis demonstrated that anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 was down-regulated while pro-apoptotic protein Bcl-xl up-regulated remarkably in a time-dependent manner when apoptosis occurred.

CONCLUSION

Rapamycin has significant anti-proliferation effect by induction of apoptosis via activation of caspase-3 and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, as well as by down-regulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic protein Bcl-xl on hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The data provide a potential mechanism for rapamycin-induced apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells, suggesting that rapamycin may serve as both an effective adjunctive reagent for the treatment of residual cancer cells and immunosuppressant after liver transplantation of hepatocellular carcinoma, and that in vivo anti-cancer effects as well as its potential clinical effectiveness need further investigation.

Impact of UCSF criteria according to pre- and post-OLT tumor features: analysis of 479 patients listed for HCC with a short waiting time

Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) indication for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is currently based on the Milan criteria. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) recently proposed an expansion of the selection criteria according to tumors characteristics on the explanted liver. This study: 1) assessed the validity of these criteria in an independent large series and 2) tested for the usefulness of these criteria when applied to pre-OLT tumor evaluation. Between 1985 and 1998, 479 patients were listed for liver transplantation (LT) for HCC and 467 were transplanted. According to pre-OLT (imaging at date of listing) or post-OLT (explanted liver) tumor characteristics, patients were retrospectively classified according to both the Milan and UCSF criteria. The 5-yr survival statistics were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test. Pre-OLT UCSF criteria were analyzed according to an intention-to-treat principle. Based on the pre-OLT evaluation, 279 patients were Milan+, 44 patients were UCSF+ but Milan- (subgroup of patients that might benefit from the expansion), and 145 patients were UCSF- and Milan-. With a short median waiting time of 4 months, 5-yr survival was 60.1 +/- 3.0%, 45.6 +/- 7.8%, and 34.7 +/- 4.0%, respectively (P < 0.001). The 5-yr survival was arithmetically lower in UCSF+ Milan- patients compared to Milan+ but this difference was not significant (P = 0.10). Based on pathological features of the explanted liver, 5-yr survival was 70.4 +/- 3.4%, 63.6 +/- 7.8%, and 34.1 +/- 3.1%, in Milan+ patients (n = 184), UCSF+ Milan- patients (n = 39), and UCSF- Milan- patients (n = 238), respectively (P < 0.001). However, the 5-yr survival did not differ between Milan+ and UCSF+ Milan- patients (P = 0.33). In conclusion, these results show that when applied to pre-OLT evaluation, the UCSF criteria are associated with a 5-yr survival below 50%. Their applicability is therefore limited, despite similar survival rates compared to the Milan criteria, when the explanted liver is taken into account.

Transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: The Milan criteria and beyond

1. Liver transplantation offers excellent results for selected candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). 2. Selection strategies have evolved but are mainly based on size and number of tumors, which are surrogates for vascular invasion. Newer techniques show promise for identifying patients at high risk for recurrence and selecting those with low risk, even though they may exceed currently established tumor size criteria. 3. Evaluation of the effectiveness of liver transplantation for HCC requires an intent-to-treat approach that must include an accounting of the dropout rate of patients while waiting. 4. Locoregional pretransplantation adjuvant treatments may have some role for downstaging and/or reducing the dropout rate before transplantation, but their posttransplantation effect on outcome remains undetermined. 5. Liver allocation for HCC candidates in the context of increasing HCC prevalence requires better and evidence-based prioritization policies.

Pre-liver transplantation locoregional adjuvant therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma as a strategy to improve longterm survival

BACKGROUND

Preorthotopic liver transplantation locoregional therapy (LRT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) reduces drop-out rates in patients awaiting orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). In this study, we investigated the efficacy of LRT as a strategy to improve longterm survival after transplantation.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data identified 100 patients with HCC who underwent OLT between 1985 and 2005. Of these, 46 received LRT in the form of transarterial chemoembolization, radiofrequency ablation, percutaneous ethanol injection, or a combination of these.

RESULTS

The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survivals, regardless of LRT, were 81.3%, 66.1%, and 61.3%, respectively. Demographic data and waiting time for OLT were similar between LRT and untreated groups. Pre-OLT radiologic stage was comparable (LRT: 2.11 +/- 0.74 versus Untreated: 2.39 +/- 0.94; p = 0.16). At the time of transplantation, the LRT group had notable tumor downstaging (1.50 +/- 1.34 versus 2.49 +/- 1.17; p = 0.008). The LRT group had better 5-year survival (82.4% versus 51.8%; p = 0.01), but this improvement was observed in patients with HCC stages II, III, and IV (77.6% versus 37.4%; p = 0.016). Sixteen LRT patients, and none untreated, revealed complete tumor necrosis with no viable tumor cells on explant pathology (pT0). These patients did not experience any longterm recurrence, in contrast to those with similar pre-OLT tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

OLT is a viable treatment option for primary HCC. LRT substantially downstages the primary tumor and improves longterm survival in patients with advanced disease. Complete tumor necrosis with LRT is associated with excellent longterm recurrence-free survival.

Liver transplantation and recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma: predictive value of nodule size in a retrospective and explant study

BACKGROUND

Recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation (LT) remains a major cause of post-LT death.

METHODS

To assess which preoperative and postoperative variables were related to recurrence of HCC after LT in patients with cirrhosis and HCC, we evaluated 96 patients with cirrhosis (74 with known HCC and 22 with incidental HCC) who survived more than 1 month after LT.

RESULTS

The median waiting list time was 36 days (range 1-370 days), and the median interval from detection to transplant was 180 days (range 14-1460 days). The size of largest nodule on imaging was strongly associated with recurrence (odds ratio 1.03; 95% confidence interval 0.99-1.06; P=0.064) when transplantation was performed for known HCC. Among postoperative variables, only the largest nodule diameter (independently of the number of smaller nodules) was multivariately associated with recurrence (odds ratio 1.05; 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.08; P=0.005). The best predictive cutoff was 35 mm in diameter, based on a receiver operating curve with 1-, 3-, and 5-year recurrence-free survival of 90%, 73%, and 49%, respectively, for patients with a nodule 35 mm in diameter or more compared with 96%, 93%, and 89% (P=0.0005), respectively, for patients with smaller nodules.

CONCLUSIONS

In our cohort with a short waiting list time, only the largest nodule diameter, especially in the explant, predicted recurrence after LT independently of the number of nodules. New proposals for increasing the diameter of the largest nodule as a selection criteria for LT do not agree with our data, which on the contrary indicate the optimal nodule diameter should be 35 mm or less.

Management of liver tumors in childhood

Primary neoplasms of the liver occur rarely during childhood and constitute only 0.3-2% of all pediatric tumors. However, they comprise a variety of entities including benign and malignant epithelial, as well as mesenchymal tumors, the most common of these being hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. Clinical presentation, especially in young children is relatively uniform with abdominal enlargement and a painless tumor, and often specific symptoms develop late. Prerequisites for clinical diagnosis are a comprehensive laboratory workup and good quality imaging mainly with ultrasound, as well as CT and/or MRI scans. Histological diagnosis is essential for differential diagnosis and may only be omitted in some hepatoblastoma patients of the typical age (6 months to 3 years) with an excessively elevated serum-alpha-fetoprotein. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for all benign and malignant liver tumors. Hepatoblastomas mostly respond well to chemotherapy. Therefore, this modality should always be combined with surgical resection in these patients and in many cases can reduce the size of a large tumor to resectability. Prognosis nowadays usually is good in all benign tumors and hepatoblastoma, as well as in some other rare malignancies, but dismal in hepatocellular carcinoma and other chemotherapy non-sensitive malignant tumors.

Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: is there evidence for expanding the selection criteria?

A consequent application of the Milan criteria in patients undergoing liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may lead to excellent long-term survival and a low incidence of recurrence. Expanding the selection criteria will result in more patients with hepatocellular carcinoma being potentially curative treated, but this approach is associated with at least a higher incidence of recurrence. Kaplan-Meier analysis of 110 patients, who underwent liver transplantation for HCC in our institution between 1987 and 2004, showed a significant improvement in patient survival with time. A change in criteria for patient selection may have contributed to the improved outcome. In 28 of 110 patients a recurrence of HCC was observed. In 82% of patients, who developed recurrence of carcinoma, the Milan criteria were not met. Dropout from the waiting list is common and several methods, including percutaneous ethanol injection, radiofrequency ablation, and chemoembolization, are used to prevent tumor progression and thus prevent dropout. As no randomized trials are available some uncertainty remains, whether these neoadjuvant procedures improve outcome. At present, there is no evidence that this approach enables expansion of the selection criteria. Hepatocellular carcinoma is a major indication for living related liver transplantation because the risk of dropout while waiting is negligible. Extension of the Milan criteria in the setting of living related liver transplantation may offer more patients a potentially curative treatment, without reducing the donor pool of organs for other patients on the waiting list with nonmalignant liver disease.

Tumour size is an important predictor for the outcome after liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma

AIMS

Recently, there is a tendency to expand tumour sizes qualifying for OLT. The present study re-evaluates tumour size and histopathological features as selection criteria for OLT.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of 93 adult HCC patients underwent OLT between June 1985 and December 2003. Median follow-up was 28 months (1-222 months). The Milan criteria were routinely applied since 1994.

RESULTS

Five year survival rate of HCC patients was significantly lower than in patients transplanted for benign diseases, 41 and 71%, respectively (p<0.0001). Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of vascular invasion represents the most significant predictor (p<0.001) affecting the survival rate. Survival was also significantly impaired when the tumour size was >5 cm (p<0.05), whereas the number of nodules had no significant effect on survival. Consequently, the survival rate for HCC fulfilling the Milan criteria histologically improved to 70% since 1994.

CONCLUSION

Tumour size has been shown to be the most important pre-operatively detectable predictor for patient survival after OLT.

Predictive Factors of Outcome After Liver Transplantation in Patients With Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Studies to define the optimal upper limits of tumor size and number as predictors of outcome after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) have yielded conflicting results. We analyzed 72 patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who underwent OLT over a 12-year period in a single center. Predictive factors for survival and tumor recurrence, according to the Milan criteria, were also examined. Our cohort included 60 men and 12 women of mean age 54 +/- 8 years and mean follow-up of 40 +/- 39 months. Origin of cirrhosis was postviral in 70% and Child class B or C in two thirds of patients. HCC was multifocal in 61%; about one fifth of patients had micro- or macrovascular involvement or positive nodes upon histologic examination. The cumulative size of the lesions was <3 cm in 17 patients; >3 to < or =5 cm in 28 patients; >5 to < or =8 cm in 14 patients; and >8 cm in 13 patients. According to the number and size of tumor nodules, 49 patients met the Milan criteria. During follow-up 25 patients died, 13 due to tumor recurrence. The 1- and 2-year survivals were 90% and 85% for patients who met the Milan criteria versus 57% and 51% for patients exceeding those limits (P = .006). A cumulative tumor size >8 cm was predictive of survival and tumor recurrence upon multivariate analysis. The adoption of Milan criteria for selection of cirrhotic patients has improved survival and reduced the rate of tumor recurrence. The evaluation of cumulative tumor size might further improve patient selection.

Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma as a bridge to liver transplantation

Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) can be a definitive treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Prolonged waiting times for cadaveric livers, however, may lead to dropout from the waiting list or worsened post-OLT prognosis as a result of interval tumor progression. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is widely used for local control of small unresectable HCC, but its pretransplant role remains unclear. We studied the outcome of 52 consecutive patients accepted for OLT bearing 87 HCC nodules and treated with percutaneous RFA. On initial staging, the tumor burden exceeded the Milan criteria in 10 patients. Complete tumor coagulation was observed in 74 of 87 (85.1%) nodules based on postablation imaging. After a mean of 12.7 months (range: 0.3-43.5) on the waiting list, 3 of 52 patients (5.8%) had dropped out due to tumor progression. Forty-one patients had undergone transplantation, with 1- and 3-year post-OLT survival rates of 85% and 76%, respectively. No patient developed HCC recurrence. There were three major complications in 76 RFA procedures (hepatic arterial hemorrhage, small bowel perforation, and liver decompensation salvaged by OLT), without resultant death or dropout. In conclusion, percutaneous RFA is an effective bridge to OLT for patients with compensated liver function and safely accessible tumors. Tumor-related dropout rate and post-OLT outcome compared favorably with published controls of patients with early-stage disease. This can be attributed to the efficacy of RFA in producing local cure or curbing tumor progression during the waiting period.

Increased populations of regulatory T cells in peripheral blood of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide with a poor prognosis and one for which immunotherapy remains a viable option. Experimental tumor models have shown that regulatory T cells, a functionally unique subset of T cells, can suppress effective antitumor immune responses. This suppression might explain the poor outcome of some of the immunotherapy protocols currently being used. A better understanding of the role of regulatory T cells in HCC is important for design of future immunotherapy-based clinical protocols. We have studied regulatory T cells from 84 patients with HCC and 74 controls, including healthy donors, patients with chronic hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infection and nonviral liver cirrhosis. Regulatory T cells were identified by fluorescence-activated cell sorting using a panel of antibodies and by real-time PCR analysis for Foxp3 expression. Functional studies were done to analyze their inhibitory role. Finally, regulatory T cells were analyzed in tumors and ascites from patients with HCC. Patients with HCC have increased numbers of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in their peripheral blood, which express high levels of HLA-DR, GITR, and low or no CD45RA. These cells were anergic toward T-cell receptor stimulation and, when cocultured with activated CD4+CD25- cells, potently suppressed their proliferation and cytokine secretion. There were also high numbers of regulatory T cells in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes of HCC patients comparable with the increase in their peripheral blood. Our data suggest that the increase in frequency of regulatory T cells might play a role in modulation of the immune response against HCC and could be important in design of immunotherapeutic approaches.

Phase II study of radiotherapy employing proton beam for hepatocellular carcinoma

PURPOSE

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of proton beam radiotherapy (PRT) for hepatocellular carcinoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Eligibility criteria for this study were: solitary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); no indication for surgery or local ablation therapy; no ascites; age >/= 20 years; Zubrod performance status of 0 to 2; no serious comorbidities other than liver cirrhosis; written informed consent. PRT was administered in doses of 76 cobalt gray equivalent in 20 fractions for 5 weeks. No patients received transarterial chemoembolization or local ablation in combination with PRT.

RESULTS

Thirty patients were enrolled between May 1999 and February 2003. There were 20 male and 10 female patients, with a median age of 70 years. Maximum tumor diameter ranged from 25 to 82 mm (median, 45 mm). All patients had liver cirrhosis, the degree of which was Child-Pugh class A in 20, and class B in 10 patients. Acute reactions of PRT were well tolerated, and PRT was completed as planned in all patients. Four patients died of hepatic insufficiency without tumor recurrence at 6 to 9 months. Three of these four patients had pretreatment indocyanine green retention rate at 15 minutes of more than 50%. After a median follow-up period of 31 months (16 to 54 months), only one patient experienced recurrence of the primary tumor, and 2-year actuarial local progression-free rate was 96% (95% CI, 88% to 100%). Actuarial overall survival rate at 2 years was 66% (48% to 84%).

CONCLUSION

PRT showed excellent control of the primary tumor, with minimal acute toxicity. Further study is warranted to scrutinize adequate patient selection in order to maximize survival benefit of this promising modality.

Prognostic factors for survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after percutaneous microwave ablation

PURPOSE

To determine the long-term survival and prognostic factors in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma treated with percutaneous microwave ablation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained. A database of cases of hepatocellular carcinoma in 288 patients (259 men, 29 women; mean age, 54.8 years +/- 11.4 [standard deviation]; age range, 25-82 years) with 477 histologically proved lesions who underwent percutaneous microwave coagulation therapy between May 1994 and October 2002 was retrospectively analyzed. Prognostic factors for survival were evaluated by means of univariate and multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

The mean follow-up period after microwave ablation was 31.41 months +/- 20.43 (range, 5-106 months). The 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year cumulative survival rates among all 288 patients were 93%, 82%, 72%, 63%, and 51%, respectively. Ninety-three patients (32%) died. Local recurrence or new tumors occurred in 100 patients (35%). Age (P = .836), sex (P = .073), preablation serum alpha-fetoprotein level (P = .136), and preablation treatment (P = .256) were not related to prognosis, while tumor number (P = .004), tumor size (P < .001), Child-Pugh classification (P = .003), tumor differentiation (P = .026), and local recurrence or presence of new tumors (P = .004) significantly affected survival at univariate analysis. At multivariate analysis, only tumor size (P < .001), number of nodules (P = .005), and Child-Pugh classification (P = .01) each had a significant effect on survival.

CONCLUSION

With use of microwave ablation, there is a high probability of long-term survival of patients with a single lesion of 4.0 cm or less in maximum diameter and Child-Pugh class A cirrhosis.

Spontaneous tumor-specific humoral and cellular immune responses to NY-ESO-1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

PURPOSE

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer around the world. Although several therapeutic approaches for treatment of HCC are available, survival rates for HCC patients are still very poor because of inefficient treatment options. For HCC, as well as other tumors, antigen-specific immunotherapy remains a viable approach that is dependent on the definition of tumor-associated antigens. NY-ESO-1, a member of the cancer testis antigen family, is one possible candidate for a tumor-specific antigen in HCC. The aim of this study was to show the relevance of NY-ESO-1 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Sera samples from 189 HCC patients were analyzed for NY-ESO-1-specific antibodies. Forty-nine HCC patients were screened for NY-ESO-1 mRNA expression in HCC tissue. Selected patients were followed for up to 3 years to correlate their immune response with their clinical course of events. NY-ESO-1-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses from NY-ESO-1 seropositive patients were analyzed and a NY-ESO-1+ specific cytotoxic T-cell line was generated.

RESULTS

Twelve of 49 analyzed tumor samples expressed NY-ESO-1 mRNA and 23 of 189 patients showed NY-ESO-1-specific antibody responses. These humoral immune responses were accompanied by NY-ESO-1-specific functional CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses. Finally, NY-ESO-1 humoral responses were dependent on the presence of NY-ESO-1-expressing tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first report of a spontaneous immune response in HCC patients to a known tumor-specific antigen, NY-ESO-1 protein. Our data favor the possibility of immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of HCC.

Liver transplantation outcomes for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma: results of a multicenter study

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a frequent and incurable complication of cirrhosis, continues to rise. Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) has been proposed as a treatment for unresectable, intrahepatic HCC limited in extent to the Milan criteria adopted by the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) in 1998. More recently, somewhat less restrictive University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)10, criteria were proposed. To examine the long-term outcomes of OLT for HCC patients and to assess the UNOS policy of assigning weighted allocation points to patients with HCC, we retrospectively analyzed 144 patients (113 after 1998) with HCC who underwent OLT over an 11-year period at 3 institutions from UNOS Region 1. We compared their outcomes with 525 patients (272 after 1998) who underwent OLT for nonmalignant liver disease. The 1- and 5-year survival rates were 80.3% and 46.7%, respectively, for patients with HCC and 81.5% and 70.6%, respectively, for patients without HCC (P = .020). However, there was no difference in survival between HCC and non-HCC patients after implementation of disease-specific allocation for HCC in 1998. A higher proportion of the HCC cohort was older and male and had chronic HCV infection and alcoholic liver disease. In univariate analysis, having alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels of 10 ng/mL or less and meeting clinical and pathologic UCSF criteria were each significant predictors of improved survival (P = .005, P = .02, and P = .03, respectively). AFP greater than 10 ng/mL and exceeding pathologic UCSF criteria were also significant predictors of recurrence (P = .003 and P = .02, respectively). In conclusion, taken together, our data suggest that OLT is an acceptable option for patients with early HCC and that UCSF criteria predict outcome better than Milan or UNOS criteria. Regardless of which criteria are adopted to define eligibility, strict adherence to the criteria is important to achieve acceptable outcomes.

Role of Lung Transplantation in the Treatment of Bronchogenic Carcinomas for Patients With End-Stage Pulmonary Disease

Purpose

To determine the role of lung transplantation in the treatment of patients presenting with bronchogenic carcinoma and end-stage lung disease.

Methods

An international survey was conducted to determine the outcome of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma in the explanted lung at the time of transplantation. A group of 69 patients was collected from 33 centers.

Results

Twenty-six patients underwent 29 lung transplantations for advanced multifocal bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) as the primary indication for transplantation, and 13 developed a recurrence, with an overall 5-year actuarial survival of 39%. Incidental bronchogenic carcinomas classified as stage I (n = 22), II (n = 12), and III (n = 2), or as incidental multifocal BAC (n = 7), were found in the explanted lung of the remaining 43 patients. The 5-year actuarial survival was 51% in patients with stage I carcinomas, and was significantly better than for patients with stage II and III carcinomas (survival of 14%) or with incidental multifocal BAC (survival of 23%). Time from transplantation to recurrence and from recurrence to death was significantly longer in patients with multifocal BAC than in patients with other types of bronchogenic carcinoma. In addition, the site of recurrence was limited to the transplanted lung in 88% of the patients with multifocal BAC, whereas it was always widespread in patients with other types of bronchogenic carcinoma.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that long-term survival can be achieved after lung transplantation in patients with stage I bronchogenic carcinoma or with advanced multifocal BAC.

Molecular-based prediction of early recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a very poor prognosis, due to the high incidence of tumor recurrence. As the current morphological indicators are often insufficient for therapeutic decisions, we sought to identify additional biologic indicators for early recurrence.

METHODS

We analyzed gene expression using a PCR-based array of 3,072 genes in 100 HCC patients. Informative genes predicting early intrahepatic recurrence were selected by random permutation testing, and a weighted voting prediction method was constructed. Following estimation of prediction accuracy, a multivariate Cox analysis was performed.

RESULTS

By permutation testing, we selected 92 genes demonstrated distinct expression patterns differing significantly between recurrence cases and recurrence-free cases. Our prediction method, using the 20 top-ranked genes, correctly predicted the early intrahepatic recurrence for 29 of 40 cases within the validation group, and the odds ratio was 6.8 (95%CI 1.7-27.5, P = 0.010). The 2-year recurrence rates in the patients with the good signature and those with the poor signature were 29.4 and 73.9%, respectively. Multivariate Cox analysis revealed that molecular-signature was an independent indicator for recurrence (hazard ratio 3.82, 95%CI 1.44-10.10, P = 0.007).

CONCLUSIONS

Our molecular-based prediction method using 20 genes is clinically useful to predict early recurrence of HCC.

Emerging Role of Transplantation for Primary Liver Cancers

Liver transplantation (LT) has been utilized in the treatment of primary hepatic malignancy for decades. Hepatocellular cancer (HCC) remains the most common malignant condition treated with LT, with almost 400 such transplants performed annually in the US. Refinement in the selection criteria for LT in patients with HCC has led to survival rates similar to those for LT in nonmalignant conditions. Excellent results have also been reported following LT for select patients with epithelioid hemangioendothelioma and hepatoblastoma. Patients with cholangiocarcinoma treated with LT have generally faired poorly, with survival rates far below that of LT for nonmalignant conditions. Improved survival has recently been reported following LT for cholangiocarcinoma in highly select patients treated with aggressive neoadjuvant therapy. The future utility of LT in the treatment of malignancy will be influenced by several factors, including a profound organ donor shortage faced worldwide; increasing prevalence of hepatitis C, HCC and cirrhosis; and the evolution of live donor liver transplantation.