Liver resection of transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma?

Background/Aims: Currently, surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis is not clearly defined. The objective of this study was, in patients with cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma, to compare liver resection to transplantation assessed by patient survival and to determine whether the tumor recurrence might be influenced by prognostic factors. Methods: We have gathered all the available data from six French Medical Universities, for 215 patients with cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma surgically treated either by liver resection (102) or by transplantation (113). Results: The overall 5-year survival rate was similar in the transplantation group and in the resection group (32% vs. 31%, p 0.7). However, the 5-year survival rate without recurrence was higher in the transplantation group than in the resection group (60% vs. 14%, p p p p Conclusions: These results and this prognostic index are encouraging for liver transplantation as treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in selected patients with cirrhosis.