Effect of lymphovascular invasion on survival and recurrence after liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and its prognostic significance

Abstract

Abstract objectives One of the important characteristics of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is that it features multicentric recurrences that can recur after curative treatment. The current recommended curative treatments for HCC include liver transplantation (LT). Prognostic evaluation and selection of appropriate treatment are crucial in the management of HCC patients. These often include tumor size and number, lobar distribution, multinodularity, α-fetoprotein (AFP) level, degree of tumor differentiation, vascular invasion and satellite nodule.However, the prognostic value of intrahepatic lymphatic vessel invasion (LVI) has rarely been reported for liver cancers. Methods From January 2012 - December 2020 a total of 178 consecutively HCC patients who underwent liver transplantationwere retrospectively enrolled. The HCC patients who underwent liver transplantation were divided into two groups based on having or not having lymphatic vessel invasion. The primary aim was to compare the two groups for overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS) and recurrence rates, and to evaluate the prognostic effect of LVI after transplantation. Results Predicted survival period and redicted DFS was significantly lower in the LVI group. Recurrence and mortality rates were significantly higher in the LVI group group. In the multivariate reduced model ,LVI had significant independent effects on OS and DFS Conclusion Results has demonstrated the prognostic value of LVI in different stages of HCC except for the advanced stages. LVI was an independent prognostic factor for recurrence, OS and DFS in transplant recipients for HCC.