ABO-Incompatible Orthotopic Liver Transplant as a Rescue Strategy for Fulminant Hepatic Failure in a Recipient With Breast Cancer: Highlights on Transplant Management

Exp Clin Transplant. 2023 Sep;21(9):779-783. doi: 10.6002/ect.2023.0238.

Abstract

Pretransplant malignancy unrelated to hepatocellular carcinoma is a challenging condition in liver transplantation. Standard of care requires the completion of treatments and a disease-free period before the transplant. However, in the setting of a fulminant hepatic failure, these steps cannot be achieved. A 46-year-old woman with a recent diagnosis of stage 2 breast cancer presented to our center with a fulminant hepatic failure of unknown origin. Because of the rapid worsening of her clinical status, she was listed as eligible for transplant after a multidisciplinary evaluation. Because of a shortage of available donors, a deceased donor ABO-incompatible liver transplant with a synchronous mastectomy and first-level axillary lymphadenectomy was performed. To prevent antibody-mediated rejection, a triple immunosuppression therapy and a postoperative therapeutic plasmapheresis were performed. The patient remains without cancer recurrence at 18 months of follow-up. Recent studies have shown that cancer recurrence in recipients with pretransplant malignancy is considerably lower than suggested in previously published studies. However,this data is not sufficient to establish evidence-based guidelines on the indications and timing of transplant. In selected cases, the presence of a pretransplant malignancy does notrepresent a contraindication for a rescue liver transplant. Further studies are needed to stratify the risk and to help clinicians to choose the best strategy in an urgent context such as this.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • ABO Blood-Group System
  • Blood Group Incompatibility
  • Breast Neoplasms* / surgery
  • Female
  • Graft Rejection / etiology
  • Humans
  • Liver Failure, Acute* / diagnosis
  • Liver Failure, Acute* / etiology
  • Liver Failure, Acute* / surgery
  • Liver Neoplasms* / surgery
  • Liver Transplantation* / adverse effects
  • Living Donors
  • Mastectomy
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local

Substances

  • ABO Blood-Group System