UNRESECTABLE HEPATIC-TUMORS IN CHILDHOOD AND THE ROLE OF LIVER-TRANSPLANTATION

Liver transplantation has been performed in five children with unresec table hepatic tumors who did not have extrahepatic metastases at the t ime of surgery. Two of the children had hepatoblastomas, one had an in fantile hemangioendothelioma, and two had a hepatoma. The two children who had hepatoblastoma are well (37 and 25 months posttransplant) and have no evidence of recurrence. The child with infantile hemangioendo thelioma had a successful operation, with good quality of life, but di ed of tumor recurrence 41 months after transplantation. Both children with hepatomas died, one of graft failure owing to chronic rejection a nd the other of tumor recurrence 5 months posttransplant. These result s suggest that liver transplantation may be successful in children wit h unresectable hepatic tumors without extrahepatic spread and should b e considered particularly for the treatment of hepatoblastoma. Copyrig ht (C) 1996 by W.B. Saunders Company