How important is the role of iterative liver direct surgery in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma for a transplant center located in an area with a low rate of deceased donation?

IntroductionHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for nearly 90% of primary liver cancers, with estimates of over 1 million people affected by 2025. We aimed to explore the impacting role of an iterative surgical treatment approach in a cohort of HCC patients within the Milan criteria, associated with clinical risk factors for tumor recurrence (RHCC) after liver transplant (LT) and loco-regional therapies (LRT), as well as liver resection (LR) and/or microwave thermal ablation (MWTA).MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed our experience performed during an 8-year period between January 2013 and December 2021 in patients treated for HCC, focusing on describing the impact on preoperative end-st…