Transarterial Chemoembolization Before Liver Transplantation in 60 Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Tumor recurrence is a major problem after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In 60 patients OLT was performed for HCC after pretreatment by repeated transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Forty-four recipients exceeded the Milan criteria. Recurrence-free 5-year survival was 65.2% and 5-year freedom from recurrence was 73.2%. During the waiting time, 14 patients experienced minimal change, which did not fulfill the definition of tumor progression according to official oncological criteria. Five-year freedom from recurrence among patients with stable compared with progressive disease was 93.3% versus 28.1%, respectively (P = .0001). A stri…