3 research outputs found
A mathematical model for optimizing the indications of liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
Abstract Background The criteria for organ sharing has developed a system that prioritizes liver transplantation (LT) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have the highest risk of wait-list mortality. In some countries this model allows patients only within the Milan Criteria (MC, defined by the presence of a single nodule up to 5Â cm, up to three nodules none larger than 3Â cm, with no evidence of extrahepatic spread or macrovascular invasion) to be evaluated for liver transplantation. This police implies that some patients with HCC slightly more advanced than those allowed by the current strict selection criteria will be excluded, even though LT for these patients might be associated with acceptable long-term outcomes.
Methods
We propose a mathematical approach to study the consequences of relaxing the MC for patients with HCC that do not comply with the current rules for inclusion in the transplantation candidate list. We consider overall 5-years survival rates compatible with the ones reported in the literature. We calculate the best strategy that would minimize the total mortality of the affected population, that is, the total number of people in both groups of HCC patients that die after 5 years of the implementation of the strategy, either by post-transplantation death or by death due to the basic HCC. We illustrate the above analysis with a simulation of a theoretical population of 1,500 HCC patients with tumor size exponentially. The parameter λ obtained from the literature was equal to 0.3. As the total number of patients in these real samples was 327 patients, this implied in an average size of 3.3 cm and a 95% confidence interval of [2.9; 3.7]. The total number of available livers to be grafted was assumed to be 500.
Results
With 1500 patients in the waiting list and 500 grafts available we simulated the total number of deaths in both transplanted and non-transplanted HCC patients after 5Â years as a function of the tumor size of transplanted patients. The total number of deaths drops down monotonically with tumor size, reaching a minimum at size equals to 7Â cm, increasing from thereafter. With tumor size equals to 10Â cm the total mortality is equal to the 5Â cm threshold of the Milan criteria.
Conclusion
We concluded that it is possible to include patients with tumor size up to 10Â cm without increasing the total mortality of this population
Does bilioenteric anastomosis impair results of liver resection in primary intrahepatic lithiasis?
AIM: To evaluate the long-term results of liver resection for the treatment of primary intrahepatic lithiasis. Prognostic factors, especially the impact of bilioenteric anastomosis on recurrence of symptoms were assessed