Liver transplantation for NASH-related hepatocellular carcinoma versus non-NASH etiologies of hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been emerging a predominant reason for liver transplantation (LT). The complexity of comorbidities in this population increases the possibility of poor transplant outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the differences in survival after transplantation among patients with NASH HCC and those with non-NASH HCC. Method: We conducted systematic searches of the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases. To analyze the data, both fixed and random-effects models were employed to aggregate hazard ratios (HRs) along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) outcomes. This study is registered with PROSPERO as CRD42024578441. Results: A total of seven studies were included in this study. This study revealed that there was no significant difference in OS between liver transplant recipients with NASH HCC and those with non-NASH HCC. The RFS of NASH HCC patients were significantly longer. The HRs were 0.70 (95% CI: 0.51-0.97, P = 0.03) for RFS and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.72-1.07, P = 0.21) for OS, respectively. Conclusion: This study indicates that patients with NASH HCC who undergo LT have comparable OS as those with non-NASH HCC, while NASH HCC was associated with increased RFS. However, further research in randomized trials is necessary to verify these results and address potential selection biases.