Reduced Rates of Post-Transplant Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become the second leading cause of HCC-related liver transplantation in the United States. This study investigated post-transplant recurrence and survival for patients transplanted for NASH-related HCC compared to non-NASH HCC etiologies. Retrospective review of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) database identified 7,461 patients with HCC-1,405 with underlying NASH and 6,086 with non-NASH underlying diseases. After propensity score matching (PSM) to account for patient- and tumor-related confounders 1,175 remained in each group. Primary outcomes assessed were recurrence rate and recurrence-free survival. Recurrent malignancy at 5 years post-transplant was lower in NASH compared to non-NASH patients (5.80 vs. 9.41%, p = 0.01). Recurrence-free survival, however, was similar at 5 years between groups. Patients with NASH-related HCC were less likely to have post-transplant recurrence than their non-NASH counterparts, although recurrence-free survival was similar at 5 years.

Automated summary

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has become the second leading cause of HCC-related liver transplantation in the United States. The study found that NASH patients had a lower rate of post-transplant recurrence compared to non-NASH patients at 5 years, although the recurrence-free survival was similar.