Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy in developing countries and its incidence is on the rise in the developing world. The epidemiology of this cancer is unique since its risk factors, including hepatitis C and B, have been clearly established. The current trends in the shifting incidence of HCC in different regions of the world can be explained partly by the changing prevalence of hepatitis. Early detection offers the only hope for curative treatment for patients with HCC, hence effective screening strategies for high-risk patients is of utmost importance. Liver transplantation and surgical resection remains the cornerstone of curative treatment. But major advances in locoregional therapies and molecular-targeted therapies for the treatment of advanced HCC have occurred recently. In this review, current trends in the worldwide epidemiology, surveillance, diagnosis, standard treatments, and the emerging therapies for HCC are discussed.

Bouveret's syndrome is defined as gastric outlet obstruction caused by duodenal impaction of a large gallstone which passes into the duodenal bulb through a cholecystogastric or cholecystoduodenal fistula. Initial attempts at endoscopic retrieval with or without mechanical or extracorporeal lithotripsy should be performed as first-line treatment, though success rates with endoscopic treatment are variable. We describe a case of Bouveret's Syndrome in an elderly patient that was successfully treated with endoscopic extraction combined with mechanical lithotripsy, and review the literature on this uncommon condition.

Aims The goal of this study is to evaluate whether an elevated neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) at the time of diagnosis predicts survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplant (LT). We hypothesize that the NLR is predictive of overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with HCC who undergo LT. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of adult patients undergoing LT for HCC between 2000 and 2008 at our institution. We define an elevated NLR as a ratio of five or greater. Results We included 160 patients who underwent LT for HCC in the time period, of whom 28 had an elevated NLR. Seventeen subjects experienced recurrent HCC during the study period. The cumulative survival among subjects with an elevated NLR was significantly lower than among subjects with a normal NLR. On univariate analysis, several factors (including an elevated NLR) predicted decreased overall survival and recurrence-free survival. However, after multivariate analysis, only three factors (including elevated NLR) remained significant as predictors of overall survival. Additionally, multivariate analysis revealed that an elevated NLR was the only significant independent predictor of recurrence-free survival. Conclusions Preoperative NLR is a powerful independent predictor of overall survival and recurrence-free survival in patients undergoing LT for HCC. Measurement of NLR could serve as a useful and easily obtained adjunct to the MELD score and Milan criteria when evaluating this patient population and determining which patients will gain the most survival benefit from transplant.

Background and Aim Sorafenib is currently the only approved systemic therapy shown to have efficacy in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recent studies suggest that hepatitis C (HCV)-related HCC patients derive more clinical benefit from sorafenib than other subgroups, but the mechanism for this effect is unknown. In-vitro data suggest that sorafenib may exert antiviral properties and thus our aim in this study, was to evaluate potential antiviral activity of sorafenib in patients with HCV-related HCC. Methods We prospectively enrolled patients with HCV-related HCC treated with sorafenib for up to six months. Baseline clinical, viral, and oncologic data were collected. Patients’ HCV viral loads were obtained at various timepoints, and compared to their baseline viral levels. No patients received any known antiviral therapy during this time. Results Thirty-three patients were identified with baseline and subsequent HCV levels available for analysis. Six patients completed six months of full dose sorafenib, and comparisons of their HCV viral loads showed no significant change at week 24 (difference of means = 0.3500, C.I. = −0.1799 to 0.8799, p = 0.150), or the interim time points. Similarly, the HCV viral loads of all patients who received sorafenib and the viral loads of those patients who had tumor response to sorafenib showed no significant changes at any time point. Conclusion Despite preclinical data and previous subgroup analyses suggesting that sorafenib has antiviral effect against HCV, this study suggests that sorafenib lacks significant anti-viral activity in HCV patients with HCC.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare posttransplant outcomes in patients undergoing bridging locoregional therapy (LRT) with Y-90 transarterial radioembolization (TARE) based protocol compared with transarterial chemoembolization based protocol for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prior liver transplantation (LT). Materials and Methods: Patients listed for LT with HCC within the Milan criteria at our center who had bridging LRT were treated according to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) based protocol from May 2012 to April 2014 and a TARE based protocol from October 2014 to December 2017. Early posttransplant survival and tumor recurrence were compared between the groups. Tumor response to LRT, microvascular invasion (mVI), and the rate of delisting was also evaluated. Results: One hundred three patients who were listed for LT with HCC within the Milan criteria received LRT. LT was performed in 65 patients, 28 treated with TARE protocol and 37 on TACE protocol. There were no statistical differences in baseline pretransplant characteristics and tumor recurrence. There was a trend toward improved 3-year survival in the TARE group (92.9% vs. 75.7%; P=0.052). The mVI was seen in 1/28 (3.6%) explants in the TARE group compared with 10/37 (27%) in the TACE group (P=0.013). The TARE group also required fewer LRT treatments (1.46 vs. 2.43; P=0.001) despite no difference in time on the transplant list. Conclusions: Despite requiring fewer LRT treatments, there was significantly less mVI in the explants of patients treated with TARE protocol LRT as a bridge to LT as well as a trend toward improved 3-year survival. Therefore, TARE may be associated with improved tumor control and reduced post-LT recurrence.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract