Table IV.
Correlation between α-SMA-positive CAF in HCC of LDLT recipients with clinicopathological factors and published eligibility criteria.
| α-SMA-positive CAF | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Factor | All redipients (22 cases) | Grade I (10 cases) | Grade II, III (12 cases) |
| Age, years (mean ± SD) | 56±4 | 56±3 | 55±4 |
| Gender (female/male) | 5/17 | 5/5 | 0/12a |
| MELD score (mean ± SD) | 14±8 (range 1–30) | 15±9 | 11±7 |
| HCV/HBV | 12/10 | 5/5 | 7/5 |
| Child-Pugh, n (%) | |||
| A | 4 (18) | 0 | 4 (33)a |
| B, C | 12 (55) | 10 (100) | 8 (67)a |
| Pre-LDLT treatment for HCC, n (%) | 15 (68) | 7 (70) | 8 (67) |
| AFP (ng/ml) (mean ± SD) | 148±264 | 53±87 | 227±343 |
| DCP (mAU/l) (mean ± SD) | 183±388 | 106±202 | 246±508 |
| CEA (ng/ml) (mean ± SD) | 4.4±1.5 | 4.4±1.7 | 4.5±1.3 |
| CA19-9 (U/ml) (mean ± SD) | 73.4±82.6 | 101.7±94.7 | 45.1±62.7 |
| HCC numbers (pre-LDLT first imaging diagnosis) (mean ± SD) | 5.3±5.8 | 2.2±2.3 | 7.8±6.7b |
| HCC numbers (pathological diagnosis) (mean ± SD) | 6.6±6.0 | 4.0±3.3 | 8.8±7.0 |
| HCC maximum diameter (pre-LDLT first imaging diagnosis) (mean ± SD) (cm) | 2.2±1.6 | 1.4±1.4 | 2.9±1.5 |
| HCC maximum diameter (pathological diagnosis) (cm) | 2.9±1.2 | 2.5±1.2 | 3.2±1.1 |
| Sum of all HCC diameters (pre-LDLT first imaging diagnosis) (mean ± SD) (cm) | 7.6±10.1 | 2.0±3.8 | 12.2±11.9b |
| Sum of all HCC diameters (pathological diagnosis) (mean ± SD) (cm) | 10.3±9.4 | 6.6±5.9 | 13.4±10.8 |
| UNOS TNM, n (%) | |||
| I, II | 6 (28) | 5 (50) | 1 (8)a |
| IV | 16 (72) | 5 (50) | 11 (92)a |
| Histological grade (poorly and combined), n (%) | 6 (27.2) | 2 (20) | 4 (33) |
| Microvascular invasion, n (%) | 16 (73) | 7 (70) | 9 (75) |
| Intrahepatic metastasis, n (%) | 11 (50) | 5 (50) | 6 (50) |
| Post-LDLT HCC recurrence, n (%) | 9 (41) | 1 (10) | 8 (67)a |
| Recipient mortality, n (%) | 8 (36) | 1 (10) | 7 (53)a |
| Above Milan criteria, n (%) | |||
| Imaging | 12 (55) | 3 (25) | 9 (75)a |
| Pathology | 15 (68) | 5 (33) | 10 (67) |
| Above Up-to-7 criteria, n (%) | |||
| Imaging | 10 (46) | 2 (20) | 8 (80)a |
| Pathology | 13 (59) | 4 (31) | 9 (69) |
| Above Asan criteria, n (%) | |||
| Imaging | 8 (36) | 2 (25) | 6 (75) |
| Pathology | 9 (41) | 3 (33) | 6 (67) |
| Above Tokyo criteria, n (%) | |||
| Imaging | 8 (36) | 1 (13) | 7 (87)a |
| Pathology | 11 (50) | 3 (27) | 8 (73) |
| Above Kyoto criteria, n (%) | |||
| Imaging | 6 (27) | 1 (17) | 5 (83) |
| Pathology | 6 (27) | 2 (33) | 4 (67) |
| Above Kyushu criteria, n (%) | |||
| Imaging | 4 (18) | 1 (25) | 3 (75) |
| Pathology | 4 (18) | 1 (25) | 3 (75) |
P<0.05 in the comparison of the with and without proliferation of α-SMA-positive CAF groups using χ2 tests (analysis was considered statistically significant).
P<0.05 in the comparison of the with and without proliferation of α-SMA-positive CAF groups using the Mann-Whitney U test (analysis was considered statistically significant).
α-SMA, α-smooth muscle actin; CAF, cancer-associated fibroblast; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; LDLT, living donor liver transplantation; AFP, α-fetoprotein; DCP, des-γ-carboxyprothrombin; HCV, hepatitis C viral hepatitis; HBV, hepatitis B viral hepatitis; SVR, sustained viral responder for hepatitis C or B virus; SD, standard deviation; imaging, HCC in the explanted liver was evaluated by pre-operative first imaging diagnosis; pathology, HCC in the explanted liver was evaluated by post-operative pathological diagnosis.