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World J Gastrointest Oncol. Oct 15, 2018; 10(10): 336-343
Published online Oct 15, 2018. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v10.i10.336
Role of pre-transplant 18F-FDG PET/CT in predicting hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after liver transplantation
Onur Yaprak, Sencan Acar, Gokhan Ertugrul, Murat Dayangac
Onur Yaprak, Gokhan Ertugrul, Murat Dayangac, Medipol University Hospital, Center for Organ Transplantation, Istanbul 34214, Turkey
Sencan Acar, Atasehir Memorial Hospital, Center for Organ Transplantation, Istanbul 34758, Turkey
Author contributions: Yaprak O designed the aim of this minireview; Dayangac M, Yaprak O, Acar S and Ertugrul G contributed equally to this work, reviewed the references, generated the tables, and wrote the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Onur Yaprak, MD, Associate Professor, Medipol University Hospital, Center for Organ Transplantation, Goztepe Mah. Metin Sk. No.4, Bagcilar, Istanbul 34214, Turkey. onuryaprak@hotmail.com
Telephone: +90-53-22239566
Received: April 11, 2018
Peer-review started: April 11, 2018
First decision: April 23, 2018
Revised: May 27, 2018
Accepted: June 13, 2018
Article in press: June 14, 2018
Published online: October 15, 2018
Processing time: 187 Days and 19.4 Hours
Abstract

The last two decades have seen a paradigm shift in the selection of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for liver transplantation. Microvascular invasion and differentiation have been the most significant factors affecting post-transplant recurrence; however, because of inherent disadvantages of pre-transplant biopsy, histological criteria never gained popularity. Recently, the selection criteria evolved from morphological to biological criteria, such as biomarkers and response to loco-regional therapy. With the introduction of multimodality imaging, combination of computed tomography with nuclear medicine imaging, particularly, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography fulfilled an unmet need and rapidly became a critical component of HCC management. This review article will focus on the use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography in the pre-transplant evaluation of HCC patients with special discussion on its ability to predict HCC recurrence after liver transplantation.

Keywords: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Recurrence; Liver transplantation

Core tip: The last two decades have seen a paradigm shift in the selection of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for liver transplantation. With the introduction of multimodality imaging, combination of computed tomography with nuclear medicine imaging fulfilled an unmet need and rapidly became a critical component of HCC management. This review article will focus on the use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the pre-transplant evaluation of HCC patients with special discussion on its ability to predict HCC recurrence after liver transplantation.