Liver transplantation versus resection for patients with combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma: A retrospective cohort study
Year: 2023
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background Combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma (CHC) is a rare primary liver cancer, and whether liver transplantation should be implemented among CHC patients is still controversial. We intend to conduct a retrospective cohort study based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to investigate the prognosis of liver transplantation vs. liver resection among CHC patients. Methods Patients diagnosed with CHC (ICD-O-3:8180/3) and treated with transplantation or hepatectomy were extracted from the SEER database (2000–2018). We utilized Propensity Score Matching to control confounding bias. Kaplan-Meier curve was used for survival analysis, and Cox regression was used to find independent factors associated with prognosis. Results We identified 123 (transplantation: 49; resection: 74) patients with CHC who were treated between 2004 and 2015. In the entire cohort, survival analysis demonstrated transplantation group was associated with better overall survival and cancer-specific survival (log-rank p = 0.004 and p = 0.003, respectively). In addition, liver transplantation still conferred better overall and cancer-specific survival than liver resection after Propensity Score Matching (log-rank p = 0.024 and p = 0.048, respectively). However, this advantage didn't appear in the subgroup, regardless of whether the tumor size was greater than 3 cm or not. (≤3 cm: OS log-rank p = 0.230, CSS log-rank p = 0.370; >3 cm: OS log-rank p = 0.110, CSS log-rank p = 0.084). Multivariate analysis validated the finding that liver transplantation was a protective factor for overall survival (HR = 0.55 [0.31–0.95], p = 0.032). Conclusions Liver transplantation may be an option in individuals with CHC and should be taken into consideration due to its advantages in terms of overall survival and cancer-specific survival. However, a sizable sample is required for future studies to determine which subset of CHC patients may benefit more from liver transplantation.
Source: Heliyon
Institutions: Sichuan University, West China Hospital of Sichuan University
Language: English
Subfield: Hepatology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,100
OpenAlex ID: W4387611012