SUMMARY BackgroundPolycystic liver disease (PLD) is a phenotypical expression of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and isolated polycystic liver disease. Somatostatin analogues, such as lanreotide, reduce polycystic liver volume.
Summary
Patients with end‐stage isolated polycystic liver disease (PCLD) suffer from incapacitating symptoms because of very large liver volumes. Liver transplantation (LT) is the only curative option. This study assesses the feasibility of LT in PCLD. We used the European Liver Transplant Registry (ELTR) database to extract demographics and outcomes of 58 PCLD patients. We used Kaplan–Meier survival analysis for survival rates. Severe abdominal pain (75%) was the most prominent symptom, while portal hypertension (35%) was the most common complication in PCLD. The explantation of the polycystic liver was extremely difficult in 38% of patients, because of presence of adhesions from prior therapy (17%). Karnofsky score following LT was 90%. The 1‐ and 5‐year graft survival rate was 94.3% and 87.5%, while patient survival rate was 94.8% and 92.3%, respectively. Survival rates after LT for PCLD are good.
CA19-9 levels are high in the cyst fluid and serum of polycystic liver disease patients due to production and secretion by cyst epithelia. It does not reflect malignancy in these patients and may be of value as a biomarker for intervention efficiency assessment.
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