Cholangiocarcinoma and liver transplantation: What we know so far?

Expanding Indications in Transplant Oncology

Liver transplantation is aptly described as the only curative treatment for cirrhosis and cirrhosis with co-morbid hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Its utility in the management of various other primary and secondary liver cancers is gaining traction rapidly, with more thorough assessments on broader populations continuing to emerge. Most prominently, this includes colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRLM), cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), and more. Furthermore, despite being a well described treatment for HCC for many years, growing evidence supports a change in oncological strategy for HCC, with broadened selection criteria and more advanced systemic and locoregional therapies available. Our review aims to describe the evidence supporting the expansion of indications and selection criteria for liver transplantation in various oncologic indications of primary and secondary liver tumors.

Advances in Immunotherapy for Transplant Oncology

The increasing incidence of global cancer rates has created an entirely new demand for curative treatment modalities to improve patient outcomes [...].

Indications and outcomes of liver transplantation for liver tumors in the United States

Background

While hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains the leading cause of liver transplant (LT) for liver tumors, indications have broadened over the years. Data regarding patient characteristics and outcomes of LT for liver tumors are limited.

Methods

From Jan-2002 to March-2022, 14,406 LT recipients for various liver tumors were identified in United Network for Organ Sharing database. Overall post-transplant survival analysis was performed with Kaplan-Meier method and multivariable Cox proportional-hazards model.

Results

During the study period, indications for LT for various hepatic tumors were HCC (88.5 %), benign tumors (5.1 %), cholangiocarcinoma (3.9 %), angiosarcoma (0.7 %), bile duct cancer (0.7 %), secondary tumors (0.5 %) and others (0.7 %). Compared to non-HCC, LT recipients for HCC were older (median age 61 vs 54 years, P < 0.001), more often male (77% vs 48 %, P < 0.001), more often Hispanic (16% vs 8.0 %), had higher BMI (28.2 vs 25.3, P < 0.001) and higher prevalence of Hepatitis C (53% vs 3.9 %, P < 0.001). Donor characteristics across various groups were similar. One-year survival in LT recipients of HCC was higher (HCC: 91.7% vs. non-HCC: 90.3 %) with adjusted Hazard Ratio (aHR) of 0.87; 95 % CI 0.77-0.99, P = 0.033 in a multivariable Cox regression analysis. Compared to HCC, survival outcomes were worse in cholangiocarcinoma (aHR 1.70; 95 %CI 1.43-2.01, P < 0.001), bile duct cancer (aHR 3.03; 95 %CI 2.12-4.33, P < 0.001), secondary tumors including colon cancer and neuroendocrine tumors (aHR 1.88; 95 % CI 1.24-2.85, P = 0.003), with best survival in patients with benign tumors (aHR 0.57; 95 %CI 0.46-0.70, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

LT is performed for various liver tumors with variable outcomes among these primary indications.

Liver transplantation for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: who, when and how

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Using transplant oncology principles, selected patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) may achieve long-term survival after liver transplantation. Strategies for identifying and managing these patients are discussed in this review.

RECENT FINDINGS

Unlike initial reports, several modern series have reported positive outcomes after liver transplantation for iCCA. The main challenges are in identifying the appropriate candidates and graft scarcity. Tumor burden and response to neoadjuvant therapies have been successfully used to identify favorable biology in unresectable cases. New molecular biomarkers will probably predict this response in the future. Also, new technologies and better strategies have been used to increase graft availability for these patients without affecting the liver waitlist.

SUMMARY

Liver transplantation for the management of patients with unresectable iCCA is currently a reality under strict research protocols. Who is a candidate for transplantation, when to use neoadjuvant and locoregional therapies, and how to increase graft availability are the main topics of this review.

Ex vivo liver resection and auto-transplantation and special systemic therapy in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma treatment

This editorial contains comments on the article "Systematic sequential therapy for ex vivo liver resection and autotransplantation: A case report and review of literature" in the recent issue of World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. It points out the actuality and importance of the article and focuses primarily on the role and place of ex vivo liver resection and autotransplantation (ELRAT) and systemic therapy, underlying molecular mechanisms for targeted therapy in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA) management. pCCA is a tough malignancy with a high proportion of advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. The only curative option is radical surgery. Surgical excision and reconstruction become extremely complicated and not always could be performed even in localized disease. On the other hand, ELRAT takes its place among surgical options for carefully selected pCCA patients. In advanced disease, systemic therapy becomes a viable option to prolong survival. This editorial describes current possibilities in chemotherapy and reveals underlying mechanisms and projections in targeted therapy with kinase inhibitors and immunotherapy in both palliative and adjuvant settings. Fibroblast grow factor and fibroblast grow factor receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, isocitrate dehydrogenase, and protein kinase cAMP activated catalytic subunit alpha (PRKACA) and beta (PRKACB) pathways have been actively investigated in CCA in last years. Several agents were introduced and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. They all demonstrated meaningful activity in CCA patients with no global change in outcomes. That is why every successfully treated patient counts, especially those with advanced disease. In conclusion, pCCA is still hard to treat due to late diagnosis and extremely complicated surgical options. ELRAT also brings some hope, but it could be performed in very carefully selected patients. Advanced disease requires systemic anticancer treatment, which is supposed to be individualized according to the genetic and molecular features of cancer cells. Targeted therapy in combination with chemo-immunotherapy could be effective in susceptible patients.

Liver transplantation for intrahepatic and hilar cholangiocellular carcinoma: Most recent updates in the literature

Liver transplantation (LT) for non-hepatocellular carcinoma is still a debatable indication. Recently, hilar cholangiocellular carcinoma (hCCC) has attracted interest as a new indication for LT, but LT in this case should be carefully considered. Based on the recent meta-analysis for intrahepatic CCC (IHCCC) and our results from incidental IHCCC transplanted for other diseases such as primary sclerosing cholangitis, the indication for LT for IHCCC should be limited to a single tumor less than 2 cm. For hCCC, with pre-transplant chemoradiotherapy and careful selection criteria, long-term survival after LT could be attained. In order to improve the results of LT for intrahepatic and hCCC, further studies are required on the ingenuity of immunosuppressive therapy combined with chemotherapy, and optimal treatment methods to prevent recurrence, as well as initial case selection.