UK's first liver transplant patient with advanced bowel cancer is cancer-free

Bianca Perea, a 32-year-old trainee lawyer from Wigan, Greater Manchester, gets "second chance at life."

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Bianca Perea, a 32-year-old trainee lawyer from Wigan, Greater Manchester, has become the first patient in the UK with advanced bowel cancer to undergo a liver transplant, a procedure that has now given her a "second chance at life."

Ms. Perea received the pioneering transplant during the summer of 2024 after a two-and-a-half-year treatment journey that included targeted drug therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery.

Following the transplant and subsequent treatments, Ms. Perea is now cancer-free.

"I've been given a second chance at life and I'm going to grab it with both hands," said Ms. Perea, who is now looking forward to improving her fitness and planning a holiday this year. “To go from being told I’d only have a short time to live to now being cancer-free is the greatest gift.”

Ms. Perea was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in November 2021, when she was 29 years old. She initially experienced mild symptoms, including bloating, constipation, and slight stomach pain, prompting a visit to her GP. After undergoing tests, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to all eight segments of her liver.

Despite her advanced stage of cancer, Ms. Perea responded well to 37 rounds of panitumumab, a targeted drug, and chemotherapy over two and a half years. As a result, she was able to have surgery in May 2023 to remove the tumor from her bowel. However, scans revealed that the liver tumors remained.

Due to the positive response to chemotherapy and the absence of bowel cancer, doctors at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust considered a liver transplant for Ms. Perea.

In February 2024, she was added to the transplant list, and a match was found soon after. Ms. Perea received her transplant at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Four weeks after the procedure, Ms. Perea was able to resume regular activities such as driving and walking her family dogs, describing the recovery as “incredible.”

“I’m so grateful to the family who agreed to donate their loved one’s liver,” Ms. Perea said, acknowledging the donor's pivotal role in her recovery.

Her oncologist, Dr. Kalena Marti, from The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, expressed her joy at the positive outcome of Ms. Perea’s treatment. "To see that Bianca has had such a positive outcome is wonderful.

The tumour cells in her liver after removal were not active, which is excellent news," Dr. Marti said, expressing hope that this means the cancer won't return.

While liver transplants for bowel cancer patients are not suitable for everyone, the success of Ms. Perea’s case brings hope to others facing similar challenges. "This offers more hope to others, but it's important we continue to develop new treatments," Dr. Marti added.

Dr. Ian Rowe, honorary consultant hepatologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, emphasized the significance of organ donation and the role it played in Ms. Perea’s recovery. "We are indebted to the family of the organ donor," Dr. Rowe said.

He cautioned, however, that liver transplants for advanced bowel cancer remain a rare and complex procedure, with only a small number of similar cases internationally. "In time, we will learn which patients will do better and adjust our criteria accordingly," he noted.

This groundbreaking procedure highlights the potential of liver transplants as a treatment option for certain patients with advanced bowel cancer and may open doors to future medical advances.