AIM:To identify factors related to serious postoperative bacterial and fungal infections in the first 3 mo after living donor liver transplantation(LDLT).METHODS:In the present study,the data of 207 patients from 2004...AIM:To identify factors related to serious postoperative bacterial and fungal infections in the first 3 mo after living donor liver transplantation(LDLT).METHODS:In the present study,the data of 207 patients from 2004 to 2011 were reviewed.The pre-,intra-and post-operative factors were statistically analyzed.All transplantations were approved by the ethics committee of West China Hospital,Sichuan University.Patients with definitely preoperative infections and infections within 48 h after transplantation were excluded from current study.All potential risk factors were analyzed using univariate analyses.Factors significant at a P < 0.10 in the univariate analyses were involved in the multivariate analyses.The diagnostic accuracy of the identified risk factors was evaluated using receiver operating curve.RESULTS:The serious bacterial and fungal infection rates were 14.01% and 4.35% respectively.Enterococcus faecium was the predominant bacterial pathogen,whereas Candida albicans was the most common fungal pathogen.Lung was the most common infection site for both bacterial and fungal infections.Recipient age older than 45 years,preoperative hyponatremia,intensive care unit stay longer than 9 d,postoperative bile leak and severe hyperglycemia were independent risk factors for postoperative bacterial infection.Massive red blood cells transfusion and postoperative bacterial infection may be related to postoperative fungal infection.CONCLUSION:Predictive risk factors for bacterial and fungal infections were indentified in current study.Pre-,intra-and post-operative factors can cause postoperative bacterial and fungal infections after LDLT.展开更多
AIM: To identify prognostic factors of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), who were treated by orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). METHODS: From January 2000 to October 2006, 165 patients with HCC underw...AIM: To identify prognostic factors of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), who were treated by orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). METHODS: From January 2000 to October 2006, 165 patients with HCC underwent OLT. Various clinicopathological risk factors for actuarial and recurrence-free survival were identified using the Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify independently predictive factors for actuarial and recurrence-free survival, which were used to propose new selection criteria. We compared the outcome of the subgroup patients meeting different criteria. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 13.0 mo (2.8-69.5 mo). Overall, 1-, 2-, 3-and 5-year actuarial survival was 73.3%, 45.6%, 35.4% and 32.1%, respectively. One-, 2-, 3-and 5-year overall recurrencefree survival was 67.0%, 44.3%, 34.5% and 34.5%, respectively. In univariate analysis, number of tumors, total tumor size, lobar distribution, differentiation, macrovascular invasion, microvascular invasion, capsulationof the tumor, and lymph node metastasis were found to be associated significantly with actuarial and tumor-free survival. By means of using the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, total tumor size and macrovas-cular invasion were found to be independent predictors of actuarial and tumor-free survival. When the selection criteria were expanded into the proposed criteria, there was no significant difference in 1-, 2-, 3-and 5-year actuarial and tumor-free survival of the 49 patients who met the proposed criteria (97.6%, 82.8%, 82.8% and 82.8%, and 90.7%, 82.8%, 68.8% and 68.8%, respectively) compared with that of patients who met the Milan or University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) criteria. CONCLUSION: Macrovascular invasion and total tumor diameter are the strongest prognostic factors. The proposed criteria do not adversely affect the outcome of liver transplantation for HCC, compared with the Milan or UCSF criteria.展开更多
AIM: To investigate whether microproteinuria could be used as an early and sensitive indicator to detect calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-related nephrotoxicity after liver transplantation. METHODS: All liver transplant re...AIM: To investigate whether microproteinuria could be used as an early and sensitive indicator to detect calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-related nephrotoxicity after liver transplantation. METHODS: All liver transplant recipients with normal serum creatinine (SCr) and detectable microproteinuria at baseline were included in this study. The renal function was monitored by the blood clearance of 99mTc-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid every 6 mo. Microproteinuria, SCr and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured at entry and at subsequent follow-up visits. The patients were divided into different groups according to the mean values of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) at the follow-up time points: Group 1, GFR decreased from baseline by 0%-10%; Group 2, GFR decreased from baseline by 11%-20%; Group 3, GFR decreased from baseline by 21%-40%; Group 4, GFR decreased from baseline by > 40% and/or SCr was increasing. RESULTS: A total of 143 patients were enrolled into this study (23 females and 120 males). The mean follow-up was 32 mo (range 16-36 mo). Downward trends in renal function over time were observed in the study groups. SCr and BUN increased significantly only in Group 4 patients (P < 0.001). β2-microglobulin (β2m) and α1-microglobulin (α1m) significantly increased with the subtle change of renal function in recipients who were exposed to CNI-based immunosuppression regimens. The reductions in GFR were closely correlated with elevated α1m (r2 = -0.728, P < 0.001) and β2m (r2 = -0.787, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: β2m and α1m could be useful as early and sensitive indicators of CNI-induced nephrotoxicity.展开更多
Hepatic adenoma (HA) is a rare indication for liver transplantation (LTx). So far 20 cases of LTx for HA are reported in PubMed. In rare cases HA presents as multiple hepatic adenomas or recurrent adenoma after initia...Hepatic adenoma (HA) is a rare indication for liver transplantation (LTx). So far 20 cases of LTx for HA are reported in PubMed. In rare cases HA presents as multiple hepatic adenomas or recurrent adenoma after initial liver resection and in such cases LTx is the only potential cure and prevents the risk of bleeding or cancer transformation into hepatocellular carcinoma. We report the case of a 56 years old lady who underwent a left hepatectomy for giant adenoma in 2005 and resection of segment Ⅴ-Ⅵ for recurrence of liver adenoma in 2007. She developed a second recurrence of HA with 3 new lesions in the right liver in 2008. The patient underwent LTx. After 3 years the patient is alive with no evidence of disease. LTx is indicated in patients with HA in which resection is not technically feasible.展开更多
AIM:To evaluate the predictive value of preoperative predictors for portal vein thrombosis(PVT)after splenectomy with periesophagogastric devascularization.METHODS:In this prospective study,69 continuous patients with...AIM:To evaluate the predictive value of preoperative predictors for portal vein thrombosis(PVT)after splenectomy with periesophagogastric devascularization.METHODS:In this prospective study,69 continuous patients with portal hypertension caused by hepatitis B cirrhosis underwent splenectomy with periesophagogastric devascularization in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2007 to August 2010.The portal vein flow velocity and the diameter of portal vein were measured by Doppler sonography.The hepatic congestion index and the ratio of velocity and diameter were calculated before operation.The prothrombin time(PT)and platelet(PLT)levels were measured before and after operation.The patients'spleens were weighed postoperatively.RESULTS:The diameter of portal vein was negatively correlated with the portal vein flow velocity(P<0.05).Thirty-three cases(47.83%)suffered from postoperative PVT.There was no statistically significant difference in the Child-Pugh score,the spleen weights,the PT,or PLT levels between patients with PVT and without PVT.Receiver operating characteristic curves showed four variables(portal vein flow velocity,the ratio of velocity and diameter,hepatic congestion index and diameter of portal vein)could be used as preoperative predictors of postoperative portal vein thrombosis.The respective values of the area under the curve were 0.865,0.893,0.884 and 0.742,and the respective cut-off values(24.45 cm/s,19.4333/s,0.1138 cm/s-1 and 13.5 mm) were of diagnostically efficient,generating sensitivity values of 87.9%,93.9%,87.9%and 81.8%,respectively,specificities of 75%,77.8%,86.1%and 63.9%,respectively.CONCLUSION:The ratio of velocity and diameter was the most accurate preoperative predictor of portal vein thrombosis after splenectomy with periesophagogastric devascularization in hepatitis B cirrhosis-related portal hypertension.展开更多
AIM:To investigate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of continuous autotransfusion system(CATS) during liver transplantation of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.METHODS:Eighty-three hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) pa...AIM:To investigate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of continuous autotransfusion system(CATS) during liver transplantation of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.METHODS:Eighty-three hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) patients who underwent liver transplantation with intraoperative CATS(n = 24,CATS group) and without(n = 59,non-CATS group) between April 2006 and November 2011 at the Liver Transplant Institute of Inonu University were analyzed retrospectively.Postoperative HCC recurrence was monitored by measuring alpha-fetoprotein(AFP) levels at 3-mo intervals and performing imaging analysis by thoracoabdominal multidetector computed tomography at 6-month intervals.Inter-group differences in recurrence and correlations between demographic,clinical,and pathological data were assessed by ANOVA and χ 2 tests.Overall and disease-free survivals were calculated by the univariate Kaplan-Meier method.RESULTS:Of the 83 liver transplanted HCC patients,89.2% were male and the overall mean age was 51.3 ± 8.9 years(range:18-69 years).The CATS and nonCATS groups showed no statistically significant differences in age,sex ratio,body mass index,underlying disease,donor type,graft-to-recipient weight ratio,Child-Pugh and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease scores,number of tumors,tumor size,AFP level,Milan and University of California San Francisco selection criteria,tumor differentiation,macrovascular invasion,median hospital stay,recurrence rate,recurrence site,or mortality rate.The mean follow-up time of the nonCATS group was 17.9 ± 12.8 mo,during which systemic metastasis and/or locoregional recurrence developed in 25.4% of the patients.The mean follow-up time for the CATS group was 25.8 ± 15.1 mo,during which systemic metastasis and/or locoregional recurrence was detected in 29.2% of the patients.There was no significant difference between the CATS and non-CATS groups in recurrence rate or site.Additionally,no significant differences existed between the groups in overall or disease-free survival.CONCLUSION:CATS is a safe procedure and may decrease the risk of tumor recurrence in HCC patients.展开更多
AIM:To compare the long-term outcome of percutaneous vs surgical radiofrequency ablation(RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) in dangerous locations.METHODS:One hundred and sixty-two patients with HCC in dangerous l...AIM:To compare the long-term outcome of percutaneous vs surgical radiofrequency ablation(RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) in dangerous locations.METHODS:One hundred and sixty-two patients with HCC in dangerous locations treated with percutaneous or surgical RFA were enrolled in this study.The patients were divided into percutaneous RFA group and surgical RFA group.After the patients were regularly followed up for a long time,their curative rate,hospital stay time,postoperative complications and 5-year local tumor progression were compared and analyzed.RESULTS:No significant difference was observed in curative rate between the two groups(91.3% vs 96.8%,P = 0.841).The hospital stay time was longer and more analgesics were required while the incidence of bile duct injury and RFA-related hemorrhage was lower in surgical RFA group than in percutaneous RFA group(P < 0.05).The local progression rate of HCC in dangerous locations was significantly lower in surgical RFA group than in percutaneous RFA group(P = 0.05).The relative risk of local tumor progression was 14.315 in percutaneous RFA group.CONCLUSION:The incidence of severe postoperative complications and local tumor progression is lower after surgical RFA than after percutaneous RFA.展开更多
AIM: To evaluate adherence of primary care physicians(PCPs) to international guidelines when referring patients for upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy(UGE), evaluate the importance of alarm symptoms and the performance ...AIM: To evaluate adherence of primary care physicians(PCPs) to international guidelines when referring patients for upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy(UGE), evaluate the importance of alarm symptoms and the performance of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy(ASGE) guidelines in a Saudi population.METHODS: A prospective, observational cross-sectional study on dyspeptic patients undergoing UGE who were referred by PCPs over a 4 mo period. Refer-rals were classified as appropriate or inappropriate according to adherence to ASGE guidelines.RESULTS: Total of 221 dyspeptic patients was enrolled; 161 patients met our inclusion criteria. Mean age was 40.3 years(SD ± 18.1). Females comprised 70.1%. Alarm symptoms included low hemoglobin level(39%), weight loss(18%), vomiting(16%), loss of appetite(16%), difficulty swallowing(3%), and gastrointestinal bleeding(3%). Abnormal endoscopy findings included gastritis(52%), duodenitis(10%), hiatus hernia(7.8%), features suggestive of celiac disease(6.5%), ulcers(3.9%), malignancy(2.6%) and gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD: 17%). Among patients who underwent UGE, 63% met ASGE guidelines, and 50% had abnormal endoscopic findings. Endoscopy was not indicated in remaining 37% of patients. Among the latter group, endoscopy was normal in 54% of patients. There was no difference in proportion of abnormal endoscopic findings between two groups(P = 0.639).CONCLUSION: Dyspeptic patients had a low prevalence of important endoscopic lesions, and none of the alarm symptoms could significantly predict abnormalendoscopic findings.展开更多
To the Editor:Non-malignant portal vein thrombosis(PVT)remains an important issue in liver transplantation due to the technical challenges in re-establishing the portal flow to the liver graft.The prevalence of comple...To the Editor:Non-malignant portal vein thrombosis(PVT)remains an important issue in liver transplantation due to the technical challenges in re-establishing the portal flow to the liver graft.The prevalence of complex PVT(i.e.Yerdel grade 4)was reported to be around 2.0%[1].In the early history of liver transplantation,PVT was regarded as a contraindication.展开更多
Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is the fifth common cancer in the world,showing the third highest cancer related mortality.The prognosis of HCC patients depends not only on tumor stage but also on the background liver f...Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is the fifth common cancer in the world,showing the third highest cancer related mortality.The prognosis of HCC patients depends not only on tumor stage but also on the background liver function reservoir.Effective treatments for HCC include percutaneous ablation,surgical resection and liver transplantation.Although short-term prognosis of HCC patients has been much improved recently due to advances in early diagnosis and treatment,long-term prognosis is as yet far from satisfactory as indicated by the overall survival at 10 years after apparently curative treatment of only 22%-35%.Primary prevention aims to evade the tumor development with health measures that prevent people from exposure to known risk factors like hepatitis viruses or alcohol,or attenuating liver disease progression to HCC.While secondary prevention aims to diagnose HCC at an early,potentially curable stage,tertiary prevention aims to reduce the risk of HCC recurrence after curative treatment.In this article we focus on prevention of HCC and the new advance in this field.展开更多
Background:Barcelona clinic liver cancer(BCLC)stage B(intermediate stage)hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is highly heterogeneous;thus,identifying the most effective treatment for individual patients represents a signific...Background:Barcelona clinic liver cancer(BCLC)stage B(intermediate stage)hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is highly heterogeneous;thus,identifying the most effective treatment for individual patients represents a significant clinical challenge.However,transarterial chemoembolization(TACE)is the only recommended treatment option.Therefore,we aimed to investigate the patient characteristics and outcomes of living donor liver transplantation(LDLT)for BCLC stage B HCC.Methods:A total of 516 patients with BCLC stage B HCC who underwent LDLT(n=104)or did not undergo LDLT(non-LDLT;n=412)between 2004 to 2018 were analyzed by propensity score matching(PSM;1:4)analysis.Factors influencing overall survival(OS)and recurrence were analyzed using Cox’s proportional hazards models.Results:Patients treated with LDLT achieved better OS than the non-LDLT group,including liver-and non-liver related survival(all P<0.001).Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed age>60 years(P=0.006),a neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)>4(P=0.016)and>3 locoregional therapies(LRT)before LDLT(P<0.001)were independent risk factors for HCC recurrence.In addition,age>60 years(P<0.001)and>3 LRT before LDLT(P=0.001)were independent risk factors for OS.Using a combination of age,NLR,and LRT before liver transplantation(LT),the patients can be divided into low-risk(none of risk),intermediate-risk(one of risk),and high risk(more than two of risk)groups.There were significant differences in the cumulative HCC recurrence(P<0.001)and mortality(P<0.001)rates among the three groups.Conclusions:LDLT may represent a valuable therapeutic option for selected patients with BCLC stage B HCC.展开更多
AIM:To investigate the outcomes of pancreas-sparing duodenectomy(PSD)with regional lymph node dissection vs pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD).METHODS:Between August 2001 and June 2014,228 patients with early-stage ampullary...AIM:To investigate the outcomes of pancreas-sparing duodenectomy(PSD)with regional lymph node dissection vs pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD).METHODS:Between August 2001 and June 2014,228 patients with early-stage ampullary carcinoma(Amp Ca)underwent surgical treatment(PD,n=159;PSD with regional lymph node dissection,n=69).The patients were divided into two groups:the PD group and the PSD group.Propensity scoring methods were used to select patients with similar disease statuses.A total of 138 matched cases,with 69 patients in each group,were included in the final analysis.RESULTS:The median operative time was shorter among the patients in the PSD group(435 min)compared with those in the PD group(481 min,P=0.048).The median blood loss in the PSD group was significantly less than that in the PD group.The median length of hospital stay was shorter for patients in the PSD group vs the PD group.The incidence of pancreatic fistula was higher among patients in the PD group vs the PSD group.The 1-,3-,and 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates for patients in the PSD group were 83%,70%,44%and 73%,61%,39%,respectively,and these values were not different than compared with those in the PD group(P=0.625).CONCLUSION:PSD with regional lymph node dissection presents an acceptable morbidity in addition to its advantages over PD.PSD may be a safe and feasible alternative to PD in the treatment of earlystage Amp Ca.展开更多
Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide,being the fifth most common cancer and the third most common cause of cancer-related mortality.The incidence of HCC has been ...Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide,being the fifth most common cancer and the third most common cause of cancer-related mortality.The incidence of HCC has been rising in the USA over the last 20 years.Liver transplanta-tion is an optimal treatment option,as it eliminates HCC as well as the underlying liver disease.The Milan criteria(1 lesion greater than or equal to 2 cm and less than or equal to 5 cm,or up to 3 lesions,each greater than or equal to 1 cm and less than or equal to 3 cm)have been adopted by many transplant societies worldwide as the criteria to determine whether patients with HCC can move forward with liver transplantation.However,many believe that the Milan criteria may be too strict in regard to its size require-ments for lesions.This has led to a number of expanded criteria for liver transplantation,concerning both overall size and number of lesions,as well as incorporation of other markers of tumor biology.Tumor markers,such as alpha-fetoprotein,can also be used to follow treatment of HCC and possibly exclude patients from transplant.HCC presenting beyond Milan criteria can also be down-staged with locore-gional therapy.Monitoring response to locoregional therapy and longer wait times after locoregional therapy prior to transplant can serve as surrogate markers of tumor biology as well.展开更多
To the Editor:Establishing dual arterial and portal inflow is essential for liver transplantation[1].Inadequate portal inflow compromises graft function and graft survival[2].Portal hypoperfusion is usually a conseque...To the Editor:Establishing dual arterial and portal inflow is essential for liver transplantation[1].Inadequate portal inflow compromises graft function and graft survival[2].Portal hypoperfusion is usually a consequence of spontaneous portosystemic shunt,ligation of which results in improvement of portal inflow[3].We encountered a patient with portal hypoperfusion,where no significant shunting could be identified.Portal inflow was boosted with incorporating arterial supply using right gastroepiploic artery.The early results were promising.A 39-year-old man with decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis underwent deceased-donor liver transplantation in June 2017.展开更多
We read with great interest the paper by Chen and colleagues entitled "Use of robotics in liver donor right hepatectomy" (1). The authors currently represent the leading group performing robotic living donor...We read with great interest the paper by Chen and colleagues entitled "Use of robotics in liver donor right hepatectomy" (1). The authors currently represent the leading group performing robotic living donor liver procurements with 15 procedures completed to date (2).展开更多
Dear Editor,In recent years,criteria based on the combinationof morphology and biology have been proposed forimproving the selection of hepatocellular cancer(HCC)patients waiting for liver transplantation(LT)[1,2].Sin...Dear Editor,In recent years,criteria based on the combinationof morphology and biology have been proposed forimproving the selection of hepatocellular cancer(HCC)patients waiting for liver transplantation(LT)[1,2].Since all the proposed models showed suboptimalresults in predicting the risk of postLT recurrence,aprediction model constructed using artificial intelligence(Al)could be an attractive way to surpass this limit[3,4].Therefore,the Time_Radiological-response_Alpha-fetoproteIN_Artificial-Intelligence(TRAIN-AI)modelwas developed,combining morphology and biology tumorvariables.展开更多
Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the most common primary liver cancer.Most of the time,these tumors are diagnosed at late stages.Because no effective treatments exist for patients with advanced stage HCC,there is an ur...Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the most common primary liver cancer.Most of the time,these tumors are diagnosed at late stages.Because no effective treatments exist for patients with advanced stage HCC,there is an urgent need for novel,effective treatments.Cancer cells originate as a consequence of abnormal expression of oncogenes or loss of tumor suppressor genes.Often,neoplastic transformation results in a hyper-mutated cellular genome,which in turn produces neo-antigens from mutated genes.These tumor-specific or tumor-associated antigens can be recognized by antigen-presenting cells and trigger T-lymphocytes to elicit anticancer immunity.Immune responses to cancers are often rendered ineffective by tumor immune-editing and immune-suppressive mechanisms.Yet,therapeutic strategies to stimulate anti-cancer immunity have had remarkable success in several solid and hematological malignancies.Among the various strategies for cancer immunotherapy,cell-mediated immunotherapy holds considerable promise to overcome anergy and systemic immune suppression.This brief review will focus on cell-mediated immunotherapy for HCC.展开更多
基金Supported by The National Science and Technology Major Project of China,No.2012ZX10002-016 and 2012ZX10002017-006
文摘AIM:To identify factors related to serious postoperative bacterial and fungal infections in the first 3 mo after living donor liver transplantation(LDLT).METHODS:In the present study,the data of 207 patients from 2004 to 2011 were reviewed.The pre-,intra-and post-operative factors were statistically analyzed.All transplantations were approved by the ethics committee of West China Hospital,Sichuan University.Patients with definitely preoperative infections and infections within 48 h after transplantation were excluded from current study.All potential risk factors were analyzed using univariate analyses.Factors significant at a P < 0.10 in the univariate analyses were involved in the multivariate analyses.The diagnostic accuracy of the identified risk factors was evaluated using receiver operating curve.RESULTS:The serious bacterial and fungal infection rates were 14.01% and 4.35% respectively.Enterococcus faecium was the predominant bacterial pathogen,whereas Candida albicans was the most common fungal pathogen.Lung was the most common infection site for both bacterial and fungal infections.Recipient age older than 45 years,preoperative hyponatremia,intensive care unit stay longer than 9 d,postoperative bile leak and severe hyperglycemia were independent risk factors for postoperative bacterial infection.Massive red blood cells transfusion and postoperative bacterial infection may be related to postoperative fungal infection.CONCLUSION:Predictive risk factors for bacterial and fungal infections were indentified in current study.Pre-,intra-and post-operative factors can cause postoperative bacterial and fungal infections after LDLT.
文摘AIM: To identify prognostic factors of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), who were treated by orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). METHODS: From January 2000 to October 2006, 165 patients with HCC underwent OLT. Various clinicopathological risk factors for actuarial and recurrence-free survival were identified using the Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify independently predictive factors for actuarial and recurrence-free survival, which were used to propose new selection criteria. We compared the outcome of the subgroup patients meeting different criteria. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 13.0 mo (2.8-69.5 mo). Overall, 1-, 2-, 3-and 5-year actuarial survival was 73.3%, 45.6%, 35.4% and 32.1%, respectively. One-, 2-, 3-and 5-year overall recurrencefree survival was 67.0%, 44.3%, 34.5% and 34.5%, respectively. In univariate analysis, number of tumors, total tumor size, lobar distribution, differentiation, macrovascular invasion, microvascular invasion, capsulationof the tumor, and lymph node metastasis were found to be associated significantly with actuarial and tumor-free survival. By means of using the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, total tumor size and macrovas-cular invasion were found to be independent predictors of actuarial and tumor-free survival. When the selection criteria were expanded into the proposed criteria, there was no significant difference in 1-, 2-, 3-and 5-year actuarial and tumor-free survival of the 49 patients who met the proposed criteria (97.6%, 82.8%, 82.8% and 82.8%, and 90.7%, 82.8%, 68.8% and 68.8%, respectively) compared with that of patients who met the Milan or University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) criteria. CONCLUSION: Macrovascular invasion and total tumor diameter are the strongest prognostic factors. The proposed criteria do not adversely affect the outcome of liver transplantation for HCC, compared with the Milan or UCSF criteria.
文摘AIM: To investigate whether microproteinuria could be used as an early and sensitive indicator to detect calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-related nephrotoxicity after liver transplantation. METHODS: All liver transplant recipients with normal serum creatinine (SCr) and detectable microproteinuria at baseline were included in this study. The renal function was monitored by the blood clearance of 99mTc-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid every 6 mo. Microproteinuria, SCr and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured at entry and at subsequent follow-up visits. The patients were divided into different groups according to the mean values of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) at the follow-up time points: Group 1, GFR decreased from baseline by 0%-10%; Group 2, GFR decreased from baseline by 11%-20%; Group 3, GFR decreased from baseline by 21%-40%; Group 4, GFR decreased from baseline by > 40% and/or SCr was increasing. RESULTS: A total of 143 patients were enrolled into this study (23 females and 120 males). The mean follow-up was 32 mo (range 16-36 mo). Downward trends in renal function over time were observed in the study groups. SCr and BUN increased significantly only in Group 4 patients (P < 0.001). β2-microglobulin (β2m) and α1-microglobulin (α1m) significantly increased with the subtle change of renal function in recipients who were exposed to CNI-based immunosuppression regimens. The reductions in GFR were closely correlated with elevated α1m (r2 = -0.728, P < 0.001) and β2m (r2 = -0.787, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: β2m and α1m could be useful as early and sensitive indicators of CNI-induced nephrotoxicity.
文摘Hepatic adenoma (HA) is a rare indication for liver transplantation (LTx). So far 20 cases of LTx for HA are reported in PubMed. In rare cases HA presents as multiple hepatic adenomas or recurrent adenoma after initial liver resection and in such cases LTx is the only potential cure and prevents the risk of bleeding or cancer transformation into hepatocellular carcinoma. We report the case of a 56 years old lady who underwent a left hepatectomy for giant adenoma in 2005 and resection of segment Ⅴ-Ⅵ for recurrence of liver adenoma in 2007. She developed a second recurrence of HA with 3 new lesions in the right liver in 2008. The patient underwent LTx. After 3 years the patient is alive with no evidence of disease. LTx is indicated in patients with HA in which resection is not technically feasible.
基金Supported by Grants from the Sichuan Provincial scientific and technological supported project,No.2009sz0172
文摘AIM:To evaluate the predictive value of preoperative predictors for portal vein thrombosis(PVT)after splenectomy with periesophagogastric devascularization.METHODS:In this prospective study,69 continuous patients with portal hypertension caused by hepatitis B cirrhosis underwent splenectomy with periesophagogastric devascularization in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2007 to August 2010.The portal vein flow velocity and the diameter of portal vein were measured by Doppler sonography.The hepatic congestion index and the ratio of velocity and diameter were calculated before operation.The prothrombin time(PT)and platelet(PLT)levels were measured before and after operation.The patients'spleens were weighed postoperatively.RESULTS:The diameter of portal vein was negatively correlated with the portal vein flow velocity(P<0.05).Thirty-three cases(47.83%)suffered from postoperative PVT.There was no statistically significant difference in the Child-Pugh score,the spleen weights,the PT,or PLT levels between patients with PVT and without PVT.Receiver operating characteristic curves showed four variables(portal vein flow velocity,the ratio of velocity and diameter,hepatic congestion index and diameter of portal vein)could be used as preoperative predictors of postoperative portal vein thrombosis.The respective values of the area under the curve were 0.865,0.893,0.884 and 0.742,and the respective cut-off values(24.45 cm/s,19.4333/s,0.1138 cm/s-1 and 13.5 mm) were of diagnostically efficient,generating sensitivity values of 87.9%,93.9%,87.9%and 81.8%,respectively,specificities of 75%,77.8%,86.1%and 63.9%,respectively.CONCLUSION:The ratio of velocity and diameter was the most accurate preoperative predictor of portal vein thrombosis after splenectomy with periesophagogastric devascularization in hepatitis B cirrhosis-related portal hypertension.
文摘AIM:To investigate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of continuous autotransfusion system(CATS) during liver transplantation of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.METHODS:Eighty-three hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) patients who underwent liver transplantation with intraoperative CATS(n = 24,CATS group) and without(n = 59,non-CATS group) between April 2006 and November 2011 at the Liver Transplant Institute of Inonu University were analyzed retrospectively.Postoperative HCC recurrence was monitored by measuring alpha-fetoprotein(AFP) levels at 3-mo intervals and performing imaging analysis by thoracoabdominal multidetector computed tomography at 6-month intervals.Inter-group differences in recurrence and correlations between demographic,clinical,and pathological data were assessed by ANOVA and χ 2 tests.Overall and disease-free survivals were calculated by the univariate Kaplan-Meier method.RESULTS:Of the 83 liver transplanted HCC patients,89.2% were male and the overall mean age was 51.3 ± 8.9 years(range:18-69 years).The CATS and nonCATS groups showed no statistically significant differences in age,sex ratio,body mass index,underlying disease,donor type,graft-to-recipient weight ratio,Child-Pugh and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease scores,number of tumors,tumor size,AFP level,Milan and University of California San Francisco selection criteria,tumor differentiation,macrovascular invasion,median hospital stay,recurrence rate,recurrence site,or mortality rate.The mean follow-up time of the nonCATS group was 17.9 ± 12.8 mo,during which systemic metastasis and/or locoregional recurrence developed in 25.4% of the patients.The mean follow-up time for the CATS group was 25.8 ± 15.1 mo,during which systemic metastasis and/or locoregional recurrence was detected in 29.2% of the patients.There was no significant difference between the CATS and non-CATS groups in recurrence rate or site.Additionally,no significant differences existed between the groups in overall or disease-free survival.CONCLUSION:CATS is a safe procedure and may decrease the risk of tumor recurrence in HCC patients.
文摘AIM:To compare the long-term outcome of percutaneous vs surgical radiofrequency ablation(RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) in dangerous locations.METHODS:One hundred and sixty-two patients with HCC in dangerous locations treated with percutaneous or surgical RFA were enrolled in this study.The patients were divided into percutaneous RFA group and surgical RFA group.After the patients were regularly followed up for a long time,their curative rate,hospital stay time,postoperative complications and 5-year local tumor progression were compared and analyzed.RESULTS:No significant difference was observed in curative rate between the two groups(91.3% vs 96.8%,P = 0.841).The hospital stay time was longer and more analgesics were required while the incidence of bile duct injury and RFA-related hemorrhage was lower in surgical RFA group than in percutaneous RFA group(P < 0.05).The local progression rate of HCC in dangerous locations was significantly lower in surgical RFA group than in percutaneous RFA group(P = 0.05).The relative risk of local tumor progression was 14.315 in percutaneous RFA group.CONCLUSION:The incidence of severe postoperative complications and local tumor progression is lower after surgical RFA than after percutaneous RFA.
基金Supported by The Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding this Research group number RGP-VPP-279
文摘AIM: To evaluate adherence of primary care physicians(PCPs) to international guidelines when referring patients for upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy(UGE), evaluate the importance of alarm symptoms and the performance of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy(ASGE) guidelines in a Saudi population.METHODS: A prospective, observational cross-sectional study on dyspeptic patients undergoing UGE who were referred by PCPs over a 4 mo period. Refer-rals were classified as appropriate or inappropriate according to adherence to ASGE guidelines.RESULTS: Total of 221 dyspeptic patients was enrolled; 161 patients met our inclusion criteria. Mean age was 40.3 years(SD ± 18.1). Females comprised 70.1%. Alarm symptoms included low hemoglobin level(39%), weight loss(18%), vomiting(16%), loss of appetite(16%), difficulty swallowing(3%), and gastrointestinal bleeding(3%). Abnormal endoscopy findings included gastritis(52%), duodenitis(10%), hiatus hernia(7.8%), features suggestive of celiac disease(6.5%), ulcers(3.9%), malignancy(2.6%) and gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD: 17%). Among patients who underwent UGE, 63% met ASGE guidelines, and 50% had abnormal endoscopic findings. Endoscopy was not indicated in remaining 37% of patients. Among the latter group, endoscopy was normal in 54% of patients. There was no difference in proportion of abnormal endoscopic findings between two groups(P = 0.639).CONCLUSION: Dyspeptic patients had a low prevalence of important endoscopic lesions, and none of the alarm symptoms could significantly predict abnormalendoscopic findings.
文摘To the Editor:Non-malignant portal vein thrombosis(PVT)remains an important issue in liver transplantation due to the technical challenges in re-establishing the portal flow to the liver graft.The prevalence of complex PVT(i.e.Yerdel grade 4)was reported to be around 2.0%[1].In the early history of liver transplantation,PVT was regarded as a contraindication.
文摘Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is the fifth common cancer in the world,showing the third highest cancer related mortality.The prognosis of HCC patients depends not only on tumor stage but also on the background liver function reservoir.Effective treatments for HCC include percutaneous ablation,surgical resection and liver transplantation.Although short-term prognosis of HCC patients has been much improved recently due to advances in early diagnosis and treatment,long-term prognosis is as yet far from satisfactory as indicated by the overall survival at 10 years after apparently curative treatment of only 22%-35%.Primary prevention aims to evade the tumor development with health measures that prevent people from exposure to known risk factors like hepatitis viruses or alcohol,or attenuating liver disease progression to HCC.While secondary prevention aims to diagnose HCC at an early,potentially curable stage,tertiary prevention aims to reduce the risk of HCC recurrence after curative treatment.In this article we focus on prevention of HCC and the new advance in this field.
基金This work was supported by grants from the Health and Welfare Surcharge of Tobacco Products,Ministry of Health and Welfare,Taiwan(Nos.MOHW107-TDU-B-212-114022,MOHW108-TDU-B-212-124022,MOHW109-TDU-B-212-134022 to Chen CL).
文摘Background:Barcelona clinic liver cancer(BCLC)stage B(intermediate stage)hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is highly heterogeneous;thus,identifying the most effective treatment for individual patients represents a significant clinical challenge.However,transarterial chemoembolization(TACE)is the only recommended treatment option.Therefore,we aimed to investigate the patient characteristics and outcomes of living donor liver transplantation(LDLT)for BCLC stage B HCC.Methods:A total of 516 patients with BCLC stage B HCC who underwent LDLT(n=104)or did not undergo LDLT(non-LDLT;n=412)between 2004 to 2018 were analyzed by propensity score matching(PSM;1:4)analysis.Factors influencing overall survival(OS)and recurrence were analyzed using Cox’s proportional hazards models.Results:Patients treated with LDLT achieved better OS than the non-LDLT group,including liver-and non-liver related survival(all P<0.001).Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed age>60 years(P=0.006),a neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)>4(P=0.016)and>3 locoregional therapies(LRT)before LDLT(P<0.001)were independent risk factors for HCC recurrence.In addition,age>60 years(P<0.001)and>3 LRT before LDLT(P=0.001)were independent risk factors for OS.Using a combination of age,NLR,and LRT before liver transplantation(LT),the patients can be divided into low-risk(none of risk),intermediate-risk(one of risk),and high risk(more than two of risk)groups.There were significant differences in the cumulative HCC recurrence(P<0.001)and mortality(P<0.001)rates among the three groups.Conclusions:LDLT may represent a valuable therapeutic option for selected patients with BCLC stage B HCC.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81170453 and No.81301025Tianjin City High School Science and Technology Fund Planning Project,No.20120118
文摘AIM:To investigate the outcomes of pancreas-sparing duodenectomy(PSD)with regional lymph node dissection vs pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD).METHODS:Between August 2001 and June 2014,228 patients with early-stage ampullary carcinoma(Amp Ca)underwent surgical treatment(PD,n=159;PSD with regional lymph node dissection,n=69).The patients were divided into two groups:the PD group and the PSD group.Propensity scoring methods were used to select patients with similar disease statuses.A total of 138 matched cases,with 69 patients in each group,were included in the final analysis.RESULTS:The median operative time was shorter among the patients in the PSD group(435 min)compared with those in the PD group(481 min,P=0.048).The median blood loss in the PSD group was significantly less than that in the PD group.The median length of hospital stay was shorter for patients in the PSD group vs the PD group.The incidence of pancreatic fistula was higher among patients in the PD group vs the PSD group.The 1-,3-,and 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates for patients in the PSD group were 83%,70%,44%and 73%,61%,39%,respectively,and these values were not different than compared with those in the PD group(P=0.625).CONCLUSION:PSD with regional lymph node dissection presents an acceptable morbidity in addition to its advantages over PD.PSD may be a safe and feasible alternative to PD in the treatment of earlystage Amp Ca.
文摘Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide,being the fifth most common cancer and the third most common cause of cancer-related mortality.The incidence of HCC has been rising in the USA over the last 20 years.Liver transplanta-tion is an optimal treatment option,as it eliminates HCC as well as the underlying liver disease.The Milan criteria(1 lesion greater than or equal to 2 cm and less than or equal to 5 cm,or up to 3 lesions,each greater than or equal to 1 cm and less than or equal to 3 cm)have been adopted by many transplant societies worldwide as the criteria to determine whether patients with HCC can move forward with liver transplantation.However,many believe that the Milan criteria may be too strict in regard to its size require-ments for lesions.This has led to a number of expanded criteria for liver transplantation,concerning both overall size and number of lesions,as well as incorporation of other markers of tumor biology.Tumor markers,such as alpha-fetoprotein,can also be used to follow treatment of HCC and possibly exclude patients from transplant.HCC presenting beyond Milan criteria can also be down-staged with locore-gional therapy.Monitoring response to locoregional therapy and longer wait times after locoregional therapy prior to transplant can serve as surrogate markers of tumor biology as well.
文摘To the Editor:Establishing dual arterial and portal inflow is essential for liver transplantation[1].Inadequate portal inflow compromises graft function and graft survival[2].Portal hypoperfusion is usually a consequence of spontaneous portosystemic shunt,ligation of which results in improvement of portal inflow[3].We encountered a patient with portal hypoperfusion,where no significant shunting could be identified.Portal inflow was boosted with incorporating arterial supply using right gastroepiploic artery.The early results were promising.A 39-year-old man with decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis underwent deceased-donor liver transplantation in June 2017.
文摘We read with great interest the paper by Chen and colleagues entitled "Use of robotics in liver donor right hepatectomy" (1). The authors currently represent the leading group performing robotic living donor liver procurements with 15 procedures completed to date (2).
文摘Dear Editor,In recent years,criteria based on the combinationof morphology and biology have been proposed forimproving the selection of hepatocellular cancer(HCC)patients waiting for liver transplantation(LT)[1,2].Since all the proposed models showed suboptimalresults in predicting the risk of postLT recurrence,aprediction model constructed using artificial intelligence(Al)could be an attractive way to surpass this limit[3,4].Therefore,the Time_Radiological-response_Alpha-fetoproteIN_Artificial-Intelligence(TRAIN-AI)modelwas developed,combining morphology and biology tumorvariables.
文摘Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the most common primary liver cancer.Most of the time,these tumors are diagnosed at late stages.Because no effective treatments exist for patients with advanced stage HCC,there is an urgent need for novel,effective treatments.Cancer cells originate as a consequence of abnormal expression of oncogenes or loss of tumor suppressor genes.Often,neoplastic transformation results in a hyper-mutated cellular genome,which in turn produces neo-antigens from mutated genes.These tumor-specific or tumor-associated antigens can be recognized by antigen-presenting cells and trigger T-lymphocytes to elicit anticancer immunity.Immune responses to cancers are often rendered ineffective by tumor immune-editing and immune-suppressive mechanisms.Yet,therapeutic strategies to stimulate anti-cancer immunity have had remarkable success in several solid and hematological malignancies.Among the various strategies for cancer immunotherapy,cell-mediated immunotherapy holds considerable promise to overcome anergy and systemic immune suppression.This brief review will focus on cell-mediated immunotherapy for HCC.
