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Where Are We Now With Liver Transplant for Colorectal Metastasis?

  • Liver Transplantation (D C Mulligan and R Batra, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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A Correction to this article was published on 25 August 2022

This article has been updated

Abstract

Purpose of Review

To summarize the current state of liver transplant (LT) for unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) and share our institutional experience.

Recent Findings

SECA I and II trials showed a 5-year overall survival (OS) after LT for unresectable CRLM of 60% and 83%, respectively. The recurrence was high, with a 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) in the latter, of 35%. However, the 4-year OS after recurrence remained at 73%. Similarly, the first 10 living donor LT for this indication in North America showed a 1.5-year OS of 100% and DFS of 62%. Additionally, in selected patients with high tumor burden, 5-year OS after LT is 45.3% compared to 12.5% after liver resection.

Summary

The benefit of total hepatectomy and LT for selected patients with unresectable CRLM has been recently demonstrated. This may also be suitable for resectable disease in patients with high tumor burden and favorable biology. Despite almost universal recurrence, the survival is good due to the indolent pattern of recurrence. The clinical trials currently underway reflect the international interest in this field and are oriented towards evidence-based practice in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    Mariana Chávez-Villa, Luis I. Ruffolo, Koji Tomiyama & Roberto Hernandez-Alejandro

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  1. Mariana Chávez-Villa
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  2. Luis I. Ruffolo
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  3. Koji Tomiyama
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Correspondence to Roberto Hernandez-Alejandro.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Liver Transplantation.

The original online version of this article was revised to update the first column in Table 1 (Trial protocol). There are commas in the identification numbers of the studies which are in parentheses and they should not have commas.

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Chávez-Villa, M., Ruffolo, L.I., Tomiyama, K. et al. Where Are We Now With Liver Transplant for Colorectal Metastasis?. Curr Transpl Rep 9, 257–266 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40472-022-00373-2

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