Combination of Morphologic Criteria and a-Fetoprotein in Selection of Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma for Liver Transplantation Minimizes the Problem of Posttransplant Tumor Recurrence

The Author(s) 2014. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Background Serum a-fetoprotein concentration (AFP) might be a useful addition to morphologic criteria for selecting patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for liver transplantation (LT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of AFP in selecting HCC patients at minimal risk of posttransplant tumor recurrence in the setting of existing criteria. Methods This retrospective cohort study was based on 121 HCC patients after LT performed at a single institu-tion. AFP was evaluated as a predictor of posttransplant tumor recurrence with respect to fulfillment of the Milan