Living donor liver transplantation and tolerance: a potential strategy in cholangiocarcinoma

Donor-specific immune tolerance has been reported in isolated cases of kidney transplantation associated with bone marrow transplantation. The following is a description of a living donor liver transplantation for a hilar cholangiocarcinoma in a previous recipient of an allogeneic bone marrow transplant.

A right hemi-liver transplantation was performed using a liver allograft obtained from the same previous bone marrow donor. A neoadjuvant chemo-irradiation protocol was implemented before the procedure. Because of the presence of full chimerism, no immunosuppression has been necessary for the last 22 months.

Liver graft function has remained excellent, and a magnetic resonance imaging scan at one and a half years has shown no tumor recurrence. A control liver biopsy at 1 year showed no rejection.

Neoadjuvant chemo-irradiation therapy and removal of all immunosuppression after liver transplantation formed the basic structure of this approach. Additional benefits provided by living donor liver transplantation included limitation of tumor progression by diminishing the pretransplantation waiting time, radical excision of the tumor through a complete hepatectomy, and optimal timing of the transplant procedure within a neoadjuvant chemo-irradiation protocol.