| Theme | Debatable Issues in Living-Donor Liver Transplantation | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Living-Donor Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma | |
| Publish Date | 2005/11 | |
| Author | Tomomi Suzuki | First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University School of Medicine |
| Author | Tsuyoshi Shimamura | First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University School of Medicine |
| Author | Masahiko Taniguchi | First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University School of Medicine |
| Author | Kenichiro Yamashita | First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University School of Medicine |
| Author | Hiroyuki Furukawa | First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University School of Medicine |
| Author | Satoru Todo | First Department of Surgery, Hokkaido University School of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] | After the Milan criteria (MC) was established in 1996, the ratio of liver transplant patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) increased worldwide. The same trends have been seen in Japan since 1999. National insurance for living donor liver transplantation (LDLTx) was approved for patients with HCC who met the MC last year. However, the results of cadaveric liver transplantation or LDLTx reported from USA, European countries and our country have been exhibiting excellent outcomes in patients with HCC even when they are beyond the MC limits. Recently, several new criteria exceeding MC have been proposed. In our department, molecular diagnosis, using AFPm-RNA with circulating hepatoma cells, was introduced and evaluated to decide on the indications of LDLTx for patients with HCC. | |