The Value of Serum α-Fetoprotein in Predicting Tumor Recurrence After Liver Transplantation for Hepa

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http://www.springerlink.com/content/ch4243873350r9u1/

The Value of Serum α-Fetoprotein in Predicting Tumor Recurrence After Liver

Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences

Publisher Springer Netherlands

ISSN 0163-2116 (Print) 1573-2568 (Online)

Category Original Article

DOI 10.1007/s10620-008-0349-0

Xiao Xu1, Qing-Hong Ke1, Zhe-Xin Shao1, Jian Wu1, Jun Chen1, Lin Zhou1 and

Shu-Sen Zheng1

(1) Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated

Hospital, College of Medicine, Key Lab of Combined Muti-Organ Transplantation,

Ministry of Health, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310003, China

Received: 17 November 2007 Accepted: 15 May 2008 Published online: 18 June

2008

Abstract Background Many patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who

undergo liver transplantation (LT) subsequently develop tumor recurrence; this

is the main factor affecting long-term survival after LT. Factors associated

with tumor recurrence should be determined to improve the outcome of LT. The

purpose of the study was to evaluate the value of α-fetoprotein (AFP) in

forecasting tumor recurrence after LT for patients with HCC. Methods AFP data

before and after LT for 97 patients with HCC who underwent LT in our center were

analyzed retrospectively. Results The mean follow-up time was 17.1 ± 2.1 months

for all 97 patients, overall tumor recurrence rate was 32.9% (32/97), and mean

recurrence time was 7.2 ± 3.2 months. The most common tumor recurrence sites

were liver, lung, skeleton, and other sites. Pre-transplant AFP levels>400 ng/ml

were associated with higher tumor recurrence. Post-transplant AFP levels not

decreasing to ≤20 ng/ml within 2 months were also indicative of higher risk of

recurrence. Conclusions Pre-transplant AFP and the dynamic change of AFP after

LT were valuable in predicting tumor recurrence after LT for patients with HCC.

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