Background:

Hilar cholangiocarcinoma represents more than half of all cholangiocarcinoma cases, having poor prognosis and presenting a median overall survival after diagnosis of 12-24 months. In patients who have unresectable tumors with a better prognosis, the proposal to perform liver transplantation emerged for expanding the possibility of free margins by performing total hepatectomy.

Aim:

To provide a Brazilian protocol for liver transplantation in patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Method:

The protocol was carried out by two Brazilian institutions which perform a large volume of resections and liver transplantations, based on the study carried out at the Mayo Clinic. The elaboration of the protocol was conducted in four stages.

Result:

A protocol proposal for this disease is presented, which needs to be validated for clinical use.

Conclusion:

The development of a liver transplantation protocol for cholangiocarcinoma aims not only to standardize the treatment, but also enable a better assessment of the surgical results in the future.