Delta-slope of alpha-fetoprotein improves the ability to select liver transplant patients with hepatocellular cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of different alpha-foetoprotein (AFP) determinations in order to propose a new model aimed at predicting intention-to-treat (ITT) death and post- liver transplantation (LT) recurrence in a cohort of patients with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) enlisted for LT. BACKGROUND: Recent studies have increasingly focused on the role of AFP as a useful tool for patient selection in the setting of LT for HCC. However, no definitive AFP model has been definitively validated. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 124 consecutive patients enlisted for LT in a UCL Brussels LT centre during the period January 2004 to March 2012. The median follow-up was 3.3 years (ranges: 1.7-6.3). RESULTS: The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) analysis showed the ability of the AFP delta-slope as a useful prognosticator of tumour-related drop-out and post-LT recurrence. In multivariate analyses, the delta-slope was an independent predictor of ITT death [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.014, P < 0.017] and post-LT tumour recurrence (HR = 1.020, P = 0.027). The 5-year ITT survival and disease-free survival rates were 66.0% versus 36.7% and 92.3% versus 53.8%, for patients meeting and exceeding the delta-slope cut-off value of 15 ng/ml/month, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Integration of the AFP delta-slope with conventional criteria may further improve patient selection and post-LT outcomes; prospective studies are needed to validate the present proposed model

Neutrophil and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio as new predictors of dropout and recurrence after liver transplantation for hepatocellular cancer.

There is increasing evidence that systemic inflammation markers like neutrophil (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios (PLR) may play a role in the outcome of hepatocellular cancer (HCC). Between January 1994 and March 2012, 181 patients with HCC were registered on the transplant waiting list: 35 (19.3%) patients dropped out during the waiting period and 146 (80.7%) patients underwent liver transplantation (LT). The median follow-up of this patient cohort was 4.2 years (IQR: 1.8-8.3). On c-statistics, the last NLR (AUROC = 67.4; P = 0.05) was the best predictor of dropout. The last PLR had an intermediate statistical ability (AUROC = 66.1; P = 0.07) to predict post-LT tumor recurrence. Patients with a NLR value >5.4 had poor 5-year intention-to-treat (ITT) survival rates (48.2 vs. 64.5%; P = 0.02). Conversely, PLR better stratified patients in relation to tumor-free survival (TFS) (80.7 vs. 91.6%; P = 0.02). NLR is a good predictor for the risk of dropout, while PLR is a good predictor for the risk of post-LT recurrence. Use of these markers, which are all available before LT, may represent an additional tool to refine the selection criteria of HCC liver recipients

Is minimal, [almost] steroid-free immunosuppression a safe approach in adult liver transplantation? Long-term outcome of a prospective, double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, investigator-driven study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safety of minimal immunosuppression (IS) in liver transplantation (LT). BACKGROUND: The lack of long-term follow-up studies, including pathologic data, has led to a protean handling of IS in LT. METHODS: Between February 2000 and September 2004, 156 adults were enrolled in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled minimization trial comparing tacrolimus placebo (TAC-PLAC) and TAC short-term steroid (TAC-STER) IS. All patients had a minimum clinical, biochemical, and histological follow-up of 5 years. RESULTS: Five-year actual patient and graft survival rates in TAC-PLAC and TAC-STER groups were 78.1% and 82.1% (P=0.89) and 74.2% and 76.9% (P=0.90), respectively. Five-year biopsies were available in 112 (89.6%) of 125 survivors. Twelve patients refused a biopsy because of their excellent evolution; tissue material was insufficient in 1 patient; 11 had normal liver tests; and 2 patients had developed alcoholic and secondary biliary cirrhosis. Histology was normal in 44 (39.3%) patients; 35 (31.3%) had disease recurrence. The remaining biopsies showed nonspecific chronic hepatitis (14.3%), mild inflammatory infiltrates (10.7%), and steatosis (3.5%). All findings were equally distributed between both groups. In each group, 3 patients (4.8%) presented with acute cellular rejection after the first year and only 1 (0.9%) TAC-PLAC patient developed chronic rejection after IS withdrawal because of pneumonitis. Arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, renal insufficiency, hypercholesterolemia, gout, and obesity were equally low in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Excellent long-term results can be obtained under minimal IS and absence of steroids. TAC-based monotherapy is feasible in most adult liver recipients until 5 years of follow-up

MAGIC detection of short-term variability of the high-peaked BL Lac object 1ES 0806+524

ISSN:0035-8711ISSN:1365-2966ISSN:1365-871