We retrospectively analyzed 13 patients who were treated with sorafenib for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation.

The median time to recurrence from liver transplantation was 12.3 months (95% confidence interval: 8.5–16.1 months). Six of 10 evaluable patients showed stable disease, which was the best response and the median duration of stabilization was 3.9 months (95% confidence interval: 1.6–6.2 months). At a median follow-up duration of 3.7 months (range: 0.3–10.9 months) in surviving patients, the median time to progression and the median overall survival from commencement of sorafenib were 2.9 months (95% confidence interval: 0.0–6.8 months) and 5.4 months (95% confidence interval: 3.7–7.0 months), respectively. Grade 3 neutropenia was observed in one patient, which was the only high-grade hematologic toxicity observed. Grade 3 hand-foot skin reactions were observed in three patients. Adverse events could be managed with dose adjustment.

These findings suggest that sorafenib may be a feasible treatment option regarding its efficacy and safety for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation.