Retreatment with Cisplatin May Provide a Survival Advantage for Children with Relapsed/Refractory Hepatoblastoma: An Institutional Experience

There is no established standard salvage therapy regimen for relapsed hepatoblastoma

The Cincinnati Children's retrospective review of 30 patients represents one of the largest published cohorts evaluating patients with refractory or recurrent hepatoblastoma

The overall survival for the cohort was about 50%

Children who received cisplatin as part of their salvage therapy had survival of about 80% compared to 25% for those who did not receive cisplatin

The improved survival outcomes with cisplatin may be due to persistent platinum sensitivity or better tumor biology rather than proving causality

Most patients underwent additional surgery as part of their salvage therapy, either liver resection, liver transplant, or pulmonary metastasectomy

Salvage therapy for relapsed hepatoblastoma is multimodal

Cisplatin retreatment should be balanced with the risk of cumulative toxicity