Review Article On The Comparison Between Hangzhou Criteria And Milan Criteria For Liver Transplantation

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common liver cancer worldwide and causes more than one million deaths annually[1], especially in China, which has a high rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection[2]. Liver transplantation (LT) is one of the most effective treatments for early-stage HCC[3]. Various criteria have been proposed to increase the post-operation survival rate after LT. The purpose of this study was to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the Milan criteria first proposed in 1996 by Mazzaferro et al.[4] and the Hangzhou criteria proposed in 2008 by Zheng SS et al[5], which is an expansion of the Milan criteria. A review of previous researches done in this field was carried out and it was concluded that the Milan criteria were the strictest inclusion criteria for LT in HCC, thus providing a perfect long-term outcome, the Hangzhou criteria still provide considerable long-term survival and tumor-free survival, while including many more HCC patients.