Ethnic differences in hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for liver transplantation

Liver transplantation (LT) as a treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) provides excellent outcomes if restricted to patients who meet the Milan criteria (MC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of ethnicity on eligibility for LT based on the MC. This is a retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with HCC at our institution between January 2000 and September 2005. We identified 169 patients, of whom 135 were male (80%), 108 were Caucasian (64%), 29% were African American (AA) and 7% were of other ethnicity. Eighty two patients (49%) met the MC at diagnosis. Age, gender, severity of liver disease or insurance status was not predictive of meeting MC at diagnosis. Ethnicity was the only significant predictor for failure to meet MC. Significantly fewer Caucasians exceeded the MC compared to AA (44 vs. 71%; P = 0.0015). Conclusion AA are more likely to present with HCC that exceeds the MC.