Study: Liver Cancer Patients Faring Better on Transplant Waiting List

Patients with liver cancer are receiving transplants much sooner and fewer are dying on the waiting list under the new United Network of Organ Sharing allocation guidelines for liver transplants adopted two years ago, according to a report in the journal Liver Transplantation.

In February 27, 2002, UNOS implemented new allocation guidelines that significantly increased the priority given to patients suffering from liver cancer.

To evaluate the impact of the change, researchers compared patients with liver cancer who were placed on the waiting list in the two and a half year period prior to the change to those listed after the change took effect.

The average time these patients had to wait for a liver transplant dropped from 2.28 years prior to the change in allocation policy to just over 8 months after the change.

As a result, the number of liver cancer patients who never received a transplant -- either because they died while on the waiting list or become to ill for a transplant -- decreased from 25.9 percent prior to the change to 6.7 percent after the change took effect.

UNOS made another small adjustment to the priority system a year ago out of concern that liver cancer patients might be receiving too high of a priority, but researchers said the change was not believed to have greatly impacted results.

Other Sources: Liver Transplantation