Impact of body mass index on hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after liver transplantation through long-term follow-up

Background: Obesity is associated with increased oncological risk and outcomes but the evidence surrounding the effect of body mass index (BMI) on increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after liver transplantation (LT) is still questionable. The purpose of this retrospective study of a large cohort of adult patients transplanted for HCC was to investigate the effect of BMI on the incidence of HCC recurrence and outcome. Methods: Data from 427 adult recipients transplanted for HCC between 2000 and 2017 were collected. Patients were classified at time of LT according to the World Health Organization BMI classification into 3 groups; group 1: BMI <25 (n=166), group 2: BMI 25-29.9 (n=150) and group 3: BMI >= 30 (n=111). Results: There were no significant changes of mean BMI overtime 26.8 +/- 5.0 kg/m(2) at time of LT and 28.8 +/- 23.1 at 5 years. The recurrence rates of HCC after LT in the three groups were 19%, 16% and 17% respectively. The 5, 10 and 15-year recurrence free survival (RFS) rates were respectively 68.6%, 47.3% and 40.8% in group 1, 73.3%, 66.2% and 49.5% in group 2 and 68.8%, 57.5% and 47.7% in group 3 (log rank P=0.47). Conclusions: Recipient BMI at time of transplant and during follow-up didn't impact the incidence of HCC recurrence nor long-term patient survival, irrespective to the status of the patients and their tumor characteristic at time of LT. The present study clearly confirms that obesity should not be considered, when selecting patients with HCC to LT, as a predictive factor of recurrence.

Automated summary

The study found that the BMI of HCC patients undergoing liver transplantation did not significantly impact the recurrence of HCC. Obesity should not be considered as a predictive factor for HCC recurrence in patient selection for liver transplantation.