Recipient-Donor Sex Constellation in Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma-An ELTR Study.

Background & aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Liver transplantation (LT) is a curative treatment option. We investigated survival outcomes based on recipient-donor sex constellation (RDSC) following LT.

Methods: We performed a European Liver Transplant Registry analysis, including patients from 1988 to December 2022. The cohort was split into four RDSC groups: female donor female recipient (FDFR), female donor male recipient (FDMR), male donor female recipient (MDFR) and male donor male recipient (MDMR). Survival analysis, including death with recurrence, was performed.

Results: In 7601 LT for HCC with an overall median follow-up of 22.6 months (5.8, 60.7), death was registered in 25.1% and, as primary cause of death, HCC tumour recurrence in 26.0%. There was no statistically significant difference on crude survival estimates among the different RDSC groups (log-rank p = 0.66) with 10-year overall survival (OS) of 54.5% in FDFR, 54.6% in FDMR, 59.1% in MDFR and 56.9% in MDMR. On multivariable analysis, RDSC showed a significant effect on OS (FDFR as reference): MDFR (aHR 0.72, p = 0.023). No significant difference was found for FDMR (aHR 0.98, p = 0.821) and MDMR (aHR 0.90, p= 0.288). Regarding overall registered causes of death, differences between RDSC groups were found in rejection (p = 0.017) and cardiovascular (p = 0.046) associated deaths.

Conclusions: In female recipients undergoing LT for HCC, male donor grafts were associated with a 28% reduction of mortality compared to female donor grafts.