Living-related partial liver transplantation in unresectable liver metastatic colorectal cancer. A case report

Abstract

Aim. The purpose of the article is to study the outcome of using living-related partial liver transplantation in the treatment of unresectable liver metastatic colorectal cancer. Case report. A woman, born in 1989, applied to the Medical Center Universal Clinic “Oberig” with a diagnosis of stage IV sigmoid colon cancer pT4N2M1 with synchronous liver metastases after sigmoidectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy. The patient underwent surgical intervention to the extent of right-sided hemihepatectomy with total caudate lobectomy, enucleation of metastases from the left liver lobe, cholecystectomy, extended lymphadenectomy, followed by systemic antitumor therapy. Six months later, according to laboratory and instrumental examinations, the progression of the disease was revealed in the form of new metastases development in the left liver lobe. After a thorough examination, a decision was made to treat the patient by living-related partial liver transplantation. On February 16, 2021, the patient underwent orthotopic transplantation of the left liver lobe from a living-related donor. The patient was discharged on the 31st postoperative day in a satisfactory condition. According to a control MRI after discharge, no signs of disease progression were detected. In the post-transplantation period, the patient developed an acute steroid-resistant rejection requiring antiplatelet immunoglobulin prescription. Three months after discharge, the patient was diagnosed with a high stricture of the bilio-biliary anastomosis, so resections of liver segment IV, hepaticocholedochus, and bihepaticojejunostomy on a defunctionalized Roux loop of the small intestine were performed. In the post-transplantation period, no signs of disease progression were detected, and no special antitumor treatment was used. Conclusions. Liver transplantation is an effective and radical method of treatment for patients with unresectable liver metastatic colorectal cancer.