Liver Transplantation for Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma in Association With Neoadjuvant Radio- and Chemo-therapy

Plain-language summary

Single-arm pilot clinical trial. Patients with non operable CC associated with PSC will be subjected to liver transplantation after a neoadjuvant multimodal therapy protocol. Cholangiocarcinoma (CC) accounts for 3% of all gastrointestinal cancers; it is more frequent in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), who carry an 8%-12% risk of developing this type of neoplasm. Only a minority of patients are suitable for resection partly because of the anatomic position of the tumor (which often arises from the bile duct bifurcation) and partly because of the frequently coexisting liver disease. In fact, CC is currently considered a major contraindication to liver transplantation (OLT) at the majority of centers, given a 5-year survival rate of 0%-35%. New strategies have been developed for the treatment of this kind of cancer arising in PSC. The Nebraska University group showed a 1 and 3 years survival of 55 and 45 % combining a neoadjuvant intra bile duct barchytherapy and 5-FU based chemotherapy with liver transplantation. University of Pittsburg proposed also a neoadjuvant protocol prior to liver transplantation based on systemic chemotherapy and external radiotherapy reporting a 53% 5 years survival. More convincing results come from the Mayo Clinic. An accurate selection of patients and a proper neoadjuvant multimodal therapy (chemotherapy, external radiotherapy and intraluminal bile duct brachytherapy) lead to a 80% 5 years survival after liver transplantation.

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