Updates and Expert Opinions on Liver Transplantation for Gastrointestinal Malignancies
Alexander H. Shannon,
Samantha M. Ruff,
Austin D. Schenk,
Kenneth Washburn,
Timothy M. Pawlik
Affiliations
Alexander H. Shannon
Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, The James Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Samantha M. Ruff
Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, The James Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Austin D. Schenk
Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, The James Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Kenneth Washburn
Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, The James Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Timothy M. Pawlik
Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, The James Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Transplant oncology is a relatively new field in which transplantation is used to treat patients who would otherwise be unresectable. New anticancer treatment paradigms using tumor and transplant immunology and cancer immunogenomics are emerging. In turn, liver transplantation (LT) has become a potential therapy for certain patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) with liver metastasis, hepatocellular (HCC), cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), and metastatic neuroendocrine tumor (NET) of the liver. Although there are established criteria for LT in HCC, evidence regarding LT as a treatment modality for certain gastrointestinal malignancies is still debated. The aim of this review is to highlight updates in the role of LT for certain malignancies, including HCC, metastatic CRC, hilar CCA, and neuroendocrine tumor (NET), as well as contextualize LT use and discuss controversies in transplant oncology.
