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Hakeem et al. Hepatoma Res 2023;9:38 Hepatoma Research
DOI: 10.20517/2394-5079.2023.59

Original Article Open Access

The role of liver transplant for intrahepatic

cholangiocarcinoma: the UK NHSBT liver advisory
group pilot programme

3
4
1,5
2
Abdul Rahman Hakeem 1 , John Isaac , Douglas Thorburn , Nigel Heaton , Raj Prasad , on behalf of the
NHS Blood and Transplant Liver Transplantation for Cholangiocarcinoma Fixed Term Working Group†
1
Consultant Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgeon, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, St
James’s Hospital NHS Trust, Leeds LS9 7TF, UK.
2
Consultant Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgeon, Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham
NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham B15 2WB, UK.
3
Consultant Hepatologist, Sheila Sherlock Liver Center, The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London NW3 2QG, UK.
4
Consultant Liver Transplant and Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon, Institute of Liver Studies, King's College Hospital, London SE5
9RS, UK.
5
Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.
Correspondence to: Prof. Douglas Thorburn, Sheila Sherlock Liver Center, The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London
NW3 2QG, UK. E-mail: douglas.thorburn@nhs.net; Mr Abdul Rahman Hakeem, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver
Transplantation, St James's Hospital NHS Trust, Leeds LS9 7TF, UK. E-mail: abdul.hakeem1@nhs.net
How to cite this article: Hakeem AR, Isaac J, Thorburn D, Heaton N, Prasad R, Group† obotNBaTLTfCFTW. The role of liver
transplant for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: the UK NHSBT liver advisory group pilot programme. Hepatoma Res 2023;9:38.
https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2023.59
Received: 29 May 2023 First Decision: 5 Jul 2023 Revised: 23 Jul 2023 Accepted: 1 Aug 2023 Published: 8 Aug 2023

Academic Editor: Salvatore Gruttadauria Copy Editor: Yanbing Bai Production Editor: Yanbing Bai

Abstract
Aim: Liver transplantation (LT) offers a potential curative treatment for non-metastatic intrahepatic
cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) in patients with chronic liver disease who are not amenable to liver resection (LR).
Recent evidence suggests that cirrhotic patients with “very early” iCCA (single tumour, ≤ 2 cm) might benefit the
most from LT, with a 5-year survival as high as 73%. In view of these developments, NHS Blood and Transplant’s
Liver Advisory Group (LAG) established a Fixed Term Working Group (FTWG) to determine whether iCCA in
patients with background cirrhosis should be considered for LT in the United Kingdom.

Methods: The FTWG included cholangiocarcinoma/LT patient representatives, experts in cholangiocarcinoma
surgery/oncology, LT surgery, hepatology, hepatobiliary radiology, hepatobiliary pathology, nuclear medicine, and
representation from various national hepatobiliary/oncology and transplant professional bodies. The objective was
to make recommendations on appropriate indications, patient selection criteria, referral criteria, radiological

© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as
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