Progress on Liver Transplantation for Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Total hepatectomy with transplantation has been accepted as the important treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). Selecting optimal candidates is a key point in the attempt to a better outcome of transplantation for HCC. Milan criteria has been accepted internationally. In China, the indication generally accepted is: small HCC patient with poor liver function and with severe cirrhosis or patient precluding hepatic resection with tumor involved both sides of the liver. Some factors, such as vascular invasion or tumor differentiation has been recognized as prognostic factor of transplantation for HCC. Many pre- and post-operative managements such as transcatheter arterial chemoembolization(TACE),percutaneous ethanol injection therapy(PEIT),radiofrequency ablation(RFA),etc can improve the result of transplantation for HCC.