Liver transplants now an option for colorectal cancer patients [Video]

Until recently, patients whose colorectal cancer had spread to their livers — and their liver tumors were too large or too numerous to be removed while preserving the livers’ function — had limited treatment options and no opportunity to find a cure. Patients could undergo palliative chemotherapy, which could extend their lives but not cure the disease.

Now, the University of Virginia Health Transplant Center is among a handful of centers in the United States offering a new potential cure: a liver transplant to replace the cancerous liver with a donated liver.

Which patients are eligible?

There are four main criteria:

Their cancer cannot be surgically removed without destroying the liver’s ability to function.

Their cancer has not spread anywhere beyond the liver.

Their colorectal cancer can be removed successfully.

And their cancer is currently controlled with chemotherapy and is not growing while they wait for a liver transplant.

What is the treatment plan leading to a transplant?

At UVa Health, we would recommend removing the primary colorectal …