Beyond graft function impairment after liver transplantation: the prolonged cold ischemia time impact on recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation—a single-center retrospective study

Purpose. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the malignant tumors responsible for high mortality and recurrence rates. Although liver transplantation (LT) is an effective treatment option for HCC, ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a contributor to HCC recurrence after LT. Moreover, prolonged cold ischemia time (CIT) is a risk factor for IRI during LT, and there is insufficient clinical evidence regarding the impact of CIT on HCC recurrence after LT. Patients and Methods. This retrospective study analyzed 420 patients who underwent LT for HCC between February 2015 and November 2020 at The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University. The duration of CIT was defined as the time from clamping of the donor aorta until portal reperfusion. Results. A total of 133 patients (31.7%) experienced tumor recurrence after LT, and CIT > 568 min was the independent risk factor for HCC recurrence (OR, 2.406; 95% CI [1.371–4.220]; p = 0.002). Multivariate Cox’s regression analysis revealed that the recipients’ gender, exceeding Milan criteria, poor differentiation, and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) ≥400 ng/ml in CIT > 568 min group were independent risk factors for disease-free survival. The peak 7-day postoperative alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level (p < 0.001), the peak 7-day postoperative aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level (p < 0.001), the peak 7-day postoperative peak total bilirubin (TBIL) level (p = 0.012), and the incidence of early allograft dysfunction (EAD) (p = 0.006) were significantly higher in the CIT > 568 min group compared to the CIT ≤ 568 min group. Moreover, the amount of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) infusion during the operation increased (p = 0.02), and the time of mechanical ventilation postoperative was longer (p = 0.045). Conclusion. An effective strategy to improve the prognosis is to reduce CIT; this strategy lowers the recurrence of HCC in patients undergoing LT, especially those within the Milan criteria.