In December 2025, surgeons at Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine performed a living‑donor liver transplant on a patient with stage 4 colorectal cancer.
The procedure was a success, with a recent blood test finding no evidence of disease, according to a March 12 news release from Northwestern.
Zachary Dietch, MD, a transplant surgeon at Northwestern Medicine, joined the “Becker’s Healthcare Podcast” to discuss the importance of establishing a more comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to cancer care.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What should hospital leaders know about the different types of referral pathways when it comes to identifying patients where a liver transplant is appropriate?
Dr. Zachary Dietch: Historically, transplant surgeons and practitioners have not overlapped with medical and surgical oncologists in the management and treatment of colorectal liver metastases. So we’re talking about a novel treatment for a disease where these specialties have not been closely integrated. It’s important to integrate the transplant perspective early on. During multidisciplinary tumor boards, when treatment plans are being formulated for patients with extensive biolobar colorectal liver metastases, the topic of liver transplantation should be entertained early as a potential treatment option. The big challenge is: how do you integrate new specialties into existing treatment pathways for these patients?
Listen to the whole episode here.
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