Liver transplantation and combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma: Feasibility and outcomes

Introduction: Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (CHC or cHCC-CC) is a rare primary liver tumor displaying histological features of both hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Most patients are not suitable for surgery because of the advanced stage of the disease at the moment of diagnosis. We decided to review the literature in order to identify the outcomes after liver transplantation for CHC and to clarify which is the most appropriate treatment.

Material and methods: A systematic literature search was performed. Studies reporting outcomes of liver transplantation (LT) for CHC and studies comparing oncologic outcomes after LT versus liver resection (LR) for CHC were included in this review.

Results: The mean 5-y Disease Free Survival (DFS) reported in literature is 45.4%, while the mean 5-y overall survival (OS) is 41.8%, analyzing a cohort of 418 cases. The mean DSF in our series after LT was 7.97 months, while the mean OS was 11.7 months.

Conclusions: LT should be avoided for the treatment of CHC, in order to allocate organs for more appropriate diseases. Moreover, surgical resections, and in particular major hepatectomies, seem to be associated with acceptable outcomes. An accurate preoperative management is needed, and the use of PET-CT when differential diagnosis is difficult should be considered.