Neoadjuvant therapy bridging patients with hepatocellular cancer waiting for liver transplant

Introduction . Liver transplant (LT) is a widely accepted treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The role of neoadjuvant (NAT) is still under debate. The aim of the work is to assess the effect of NAT on relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with HCC who underwent LT. Methods and materials . 63 patients diagnosed with HCC were observed at Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology from October 2010 to January 2020. Of these, 28 patients did not receive any type of treatment before transplantation, 35 patients received various types of NAT. Two groups had similar patient and tumour characteristics at baseline. A significant number of patients with decompensated cirrhosis were observed in the non-NAT group (n = 14; 50%), while no patients with CP-C liver cirrhosis were observed in the NAT group (n = 0; 0%; p = 0.000). The average wait for a liver transplant was 10.3 months in the NAT group and 6.8 months in the NAT-free group (p = 0.561). Results . In the bridging subgroup, the tumour progression was detected in 29% of patients, stable disease in 47% of patients, partial response was achieved in 14% of patients, complete tumour response was observed in 5%. For 5% of patients, it was not possible to estimate the effect of the therapy due to the lack of appropriate data archives. In the subgroup of downstaging therapy, the tumour progression was detected in 23% of patients, stable disease in 41% of patients, a partial response was achieved in 12% of patients, a complete tumour response was observed in 6%. The treatment allowed the Milan criteria to be fulfilled in 18% of patients. Conclusion . There was no difference in overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS) between the NAT and control groups.