Multicentre study of perioperative versus adjuvant chemotherapy for resectable colorectal liver metastases

Background

It is not known whether perioperative chemotherapy, compared with adjuvant chemotherapy alone, improves disease‐free survival (DFS) in patients with upfront resectable colorectal liver metastases (CLM). The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of neoadjuvant 5‐fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) on DFS in patients with upfront resectable CLM.

Methods

Consecutive patients who presented with up to five resectable CLM at two Japanese and two French centres in 2008–2015 were included in the study. Both French institutions favoured perioperative FOLFOX, whereas the two Japanese groups systematically preferred upfront surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and Cox regression multivariable models were used to adjust for confounding. The primary outcome was DFS.

Results

Some 300 patients were included: 151 received perioperative chemotherapy and 149 had upfront surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy. The weighted 3‐year DFS rate was 33·5 per cent after perioperative chemotherapy compared with 27·1 per cent after upfront surgery plus adjuvant chemotherapy (hazard ratio (HR) 0·85, 95 per cent c.i. 0·62 to 1·16; P = 0·318). For the subgroup of 165 patients who received adjuvant FOLFOX successfully (for at least 3 months), the adjusted effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was not significant (HR 1·19, 0·74 to 1·90; P = 0·476). No significant effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was observed in multivariable regression analysis.

Conclusion

Compared with adjuvant chemotherapy, perioperative FOLFOX does not improve DFS in patients with resectable CLM, provided adjuvant chemotherapy is given successfully.

Triple therapy using direct-acting agents for recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation: a single-center experience

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis C viral graft reinfection is almost a universal event after liver transplantation with consequent disease progression.

METHODS

We applied triple therapy (n = 21) with the use of telaprevir (TVR; n = 12) or simeprevir (SVR; n = 9).

RESULTS

TVR was given at the dose 1,500 mg daily (n = 11) with reduced dose of cyclosporine at 25% to 50%, and SVR was given at the dose 100 mg daily with unadjusted cyclosporine, followed by 12 weeks of dual therapy. The early viral response was achieved in 91.7% (n = 11), end of treatment response rate was 91.7% (n = 11), and sustained viral response rate was 83.3% (n = 10) in the TVR group, and respective rates were 88.9% (n = 8), 77.8% (n = 7), and 77.8% (n = 7) in the SVR group. Although granulocyte colony-stimulating factor was not given in the patients with triple therapy, blood transfusion was performed in 7 cases (58.3%) in the TVR group and 1 case (11.1%) in the SVR group. Interferon-mediated graft dysfunction was observed in 4 cases (33.3%) in the TVR group and 3 cases (33.3%) in the SVR group, respectively. The cumulative viral clearance rates in triple (n = 21) and dual (n = 105) therapy were 95.0% and 18.1% at 12 weeks, and 95.0% and 40.0%, respectively, at 24 weeks (P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Although careful monitoring for possible adverse events is required during treatment, triple therapy with the use of direct-acting agents are very effective in treating hepatitis C after liver transplantation.

Correlation between portal vein anatomy and bile duct variation in 407 living liver donors

Our aim was to determine whether variant bile duct (BD) anatomy is associated with portal vein (PV) and/or hepatic artery (HA) anatomy. We examined the associations between BD anatomy and PV and/or HA anatomy in 407 living donor transplantation donors. We also examined whether the right posterior BD (RPBD) course was associated with the PV and/or HA anatomy. Variant PV, HA and BD anatomies were found in 11%, 25% and 25%, respectively, of 407 donors enrolled in this study. The presence of a variant BD was more frequently associated with a variant PV than with a normal PV (61% vs. 20%, p < 0.0001). By contrast, the presence of a variant HA was not associated with a variant BD. A supraportal RPBD was found in 357 donors (88%) and an infraportal RPBD was found in 50 donors (12%). An infraportal RPBD was significantly more common in donors with a variant PV than in donors with a normal PV (30% vs. 10%, p = 0.0004). Variant PV, but not variant HA, anatomies were frequently associated with variant BD anatomy. Additionally, an infraportal RPBD was more common in donors with a variant PV than in donors with a normal PV.

Effect of laparoscopic splenectomy on portal haemodynamics in patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension

BACKGROUND

The effect of splenomegaly in patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension is not fully understood. This study was designed to determine the effect of laparoscopic splenectomy on portal haemodynamics in these patients.

METHODS

Patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension who underwent laparoscopic splenectomy in Kyushu University Hospital from January 2006 to March 2009 were evaluated retrospectively. Correlations between splenic size and portal haemodynamics, and changes in portal haemodynamics and in levels of the vasoactive agents endothelin (ET) 1 and nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) before and 7-10 days after laparoscopic splenectomy were analysed.

RESULTS

Portal venous (PV) blood flow, PV cross-sectional area and PV congestion index correlated significantly with splenic size (P < 0·050). All three were significantly reduced following splenectomy in 59 patients. The hepatic venous pressure gradient, measured in 18 patients, decreased by 25 per cent after splenectomy (P < 0·001). Portal vascular resistance was also reduced, by 21 per cent (P = 0·009). The peripheral blood concentration of ET-1 decreased from 2·95 to 2·11 pg/ml (P < 0·001), and that of NOx tended to decrease (from 29·2 to 25·0 pg/ml; P = 0·068). In hepatic venous blood, the level of ET-1 decreased from 2·37 to 1·83 pg/ml (P = 0·006), whereas NOx concentration tended to increase (from 24·5 to 30·9 pg/ml; P = 0·067).

CONCLUSION

In patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension, splenectomy reduced portal venous pressure. A decrease in splanchnic blood flow, by eliminating splenic blood flow, and reduction in intrahepatic vascular resistance, by normalizing hepatic concentrations of ET-1 and NOx, may both have contributed.

rs8099917 and viral genotyping as indications for living donor liver transplantation for hepatitis C: a case report

INTRODUCTION

Appropriate antiviral treatment is essential for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) to be effective for treating hepatitis C. However, it has never been reported that pre-LDLT genetic analyses of both host and virus, with prediction of the outcome of post-LDLT antiviral treatment, indicated LDLT for a borderline case.

CASE REPORT

We have reported the case of a 68-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis caused by genotype 1b hepatitis C, a history of ruptured esophageal varices, and adequately controlled minor ascites. Her liver function was classified as Child-Pugh grade B. The donor was a 42-year-old woman with an estimated left lobe graft volume (GV) of 33.8% based on the standard liver volume of the recipient. Molecular analyses used to confirm the indication of LDLT for this combination revealed the following: The rs8099917 genotype was T/T in the donor and recipient, the HCV core protein was double wild type, there were no mutations in the interferon sensitivity-determining region, and 8 mutations were found in the interferon/ribavirin resistance-determining region. LDLT was performed because very high sensitivity to interferon treatment was predicted.

DISCUSSION

Six months after LDLT and uneventful post-LDLT courses, pegylated interferon-α2a and ribavirin were administered under immunosuppression with cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil. This regimen was continued for 48 weeks, resulting in a viral response at 10 weeks and a sustained viral response, as predicted.

CONCLUSIONS

We have reported the usefulness of molecular analyses of host and viral factors for indicating LDLT to treat hepatitis C in a borderline case.

Revisiting the safety of living liver donors by reassessing 441 donor hepatectomies: is a larger hepatectomy complication-prone?

Donor safety is of paramount importance in performing living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We retrospectively reviewed donor medical records to confirm whether larger donor hepatectomy is absolutely complication-prone. A total of 441 living donor hepatectomies were performed between October 1996 and July 2012 in our institute, which were divided into three eras (Era I, October 1996 to March 2004; Era II, April 2004 to March 2008; Era III, April 2008 to July 2012) and the incidences of postoperative complications were compared among the three types of hepatectomy-right hepatectomy (RH), left hepatectomy (LH) and left lateral segmentectomy (LLS). Although severe complications (Clavien's grade 3 or more) frequently occurred in RH in Eras I and II (15.4% and 10.7%, respectively), the incidence in Era III decreased to the comparable level observed in LH and LLS (5.4% in RH, 2.3% in LH and 5.3% in LLS). The incidence of postoperative complications did not relate to the type of hepatectomy selected in the latest era. Since most complications after hepatectomy were considered preventable, step-by-step meticulous surgical procedures are a prerequisite for further assuring donor safety irrespective of the type of hepatectomy selected.

Sarcopenia as a predictor of prognosis in patients following hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Sarcopenia was identified recently as a poor prognostic factor in patients with cancer. The present study investigated the effect of sarcopenia on short- and long-term outcomes following partial hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and aimed to identify prognostic factors.

METHODS

Data were collected retrospectively for all consecutive patients who underwent hepatectomy for HCC with curative intent between January 2004 and December 2009. Patients were assigned to one of two groups according to the presence or absence of sarcopenia, assessed by computed tomographic measurement of muscle mass at the level of the third lumbar vertebra. Clinicopathological, surgical outcome and long-term survival data were analysed.

RESULTS

Sarcopenia was present in 75 (40·3 per cent) of 186 patients, and was significantly correlated with female sex, lower body mass index and liver dysfunction, as indicated by abnormal serum albumin levels and indocyanine green retention test at 15 min values. In patients with, and without sarcopenia, the 5-year overall survival rate was 71 and 83·7 per cent respectively, and the 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 13 and 33·2 per cent respectively. Multivariable analysis revealed that reduced skeletal muscle mass was predictive of an unfavourable prognosis.

CONCLUSION

Sarcopenia was predictive of worse overall survival even when adjusted for other known predictors in patients with HCC after partial hepatectomy.

Electroporation-mediated interleukin-12 gene therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma in the mice model

Applications of nonviral vectors for gene transfer into tumors in vivo have been limited by the relatively low expression levels of the transferred gene. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of electroporation-mediated interleukin-12 (IL-12) gene therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). First, we investigated the optimal conditions of electric pulses (voltage, pulsing duration, numbers of shocks) of in vivo electroporation for gene transfer into HCC established by s.c. implantation of MH134 cells to C3H mice. This process made use of plasmid DNA that express the luciferase gene. We concluded that the optimal conditions for the electric pulses are as follows: voltage at 150 V; pulsing duration at 50 ms; nonpulsing duration at 950 ms; and the number of shocks at 10. Second, we tried to treat s.c. HCC by electroporation using plasmid DNA that expresses the murine interleukin-12 (mlL-12) gene. Intratumoral administration of the mIL-12 vector elevated serum IL-12 and IFN-gamma and significantly inhibited the growth not only of HCC into which the mIL-12 vector had been directly transferred, but also of the distant HCC. In addition, intratumoral administration of the mIL-12 vector inhibited spontaneous lung metastasis and delayed establishment of HCC injected 3 days after mIL-12 gene therapy. The IL-12 gene therapy induced more lymphocyte infiltration by NK cells, CD3+ cells, and Mac-1 positive cells into the tumor and reduced the number of microvessels. Therefore, more terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling-positive tumor cells were found. These results demonstrate that gene therapy for HCC by electroporation in vivo using IL-12 is very efficient and is thus promising for further clinical trial.