De novo hepatocellular carcinoma in a liver graft with sustained hepatitis C virus clearance after living donor liver transplantation

The occurrence of de novo hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation (LT) for advanced HCCs has been extremely limited. In this article, a case of de novo HCC in a liver graft with sustained hepatitis C virus clearance after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for multiple HCCs and hepatitis C cirrhosis is reported. The recipient was a 58-year-old female, and the left lobe living donor was the 30-year-old healthy daughter of the recipient. Three years after LDLT, the patient received 48 weeks of interferon treatment for recurrent hepatitis C with advanced fibrosis. The patient has shown successful viral clearance since then. However, an HCC was recognized in the liver graft during a follow-up computed tomography scan performed 6 years after LDLT, and it was surgically resected. To analyze its origin [either from the patient (metastatic) or from the living donor (de novo)], genotyping by microsatellite analysis of tissue and blood samples from the donor and recipient was performed, and it revealed that the HCC originated from the donor. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of de novo HCC in a liver graft with sustained hepatitis C virus clearance after LT for advanced HCCs and hepatitis C cirrhosis.