Transplantation for liver and biliary cancer

The early survival of patients transplanted for liver and biliary cancer is excellent, but the overall mid- to long-term survival is poor. In an era of severe donor organ shortage, it is not justified to allocate donor liver to patients with a suboptimal outcome. Patients with non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma in a non-cirrhotic liver should not be assigned to liver transplantation. Although patients with the fibrolamellar variant have a somewhat better outlook, they are still likely to recur, and the young age of many of these patients is likely to overwhelm any rational approach. The results of transplantation for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma in a cirrhotic liver are similar to those achieved with benign disease. The inclusion of such cases as a group is justified, but attempts should be made to resect tumors whenever possible and to not assign the entire group to transplantation as the first and only option. The value of pre- and postoperative adjuvant therapy for this group is still under debate, but the present waiting period is so long that some form of therapy to slow growth and prevent dissemination of tumor cells is probably required. The results following transplantation for cholangiocarcinoma can only be regarded as dismal, and the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma is a contraindication for the procedure. Liver transplantation has a definite place in the treatment of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma and unresectable chemo-responsive hepatoblastoma when confined to the liver, and in a limited number of metastatic neuroendocrine tumors.