Hepatitis C virus reinfection after liver transplantation: is there a role for direct antiviral agents?

ABSTRACT: Recurrence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection following liver transplantation (LT) is almost universal and can accelerate graft cirrhosis in up to 30% of patients. The development of effective strategies to treat or prevent HCV recurrence after LT remains a major challenge, considering the shortage of donor organs and the accelerated progression of HCV in LT recipients. Standard antiviral therapy with pegylated-interferon plus ribavirin is the current treatment of choice for HCV LT recipients, even though the combination is not as effective as it is in immunocompetent patients. A sustained virological response in the setting of LT improves patient and graft survival, but this is only achieved in 30%-45% of patients and the treatment is poorly tolerated. To improve the efficacy of pre- an

SUBMITTER: Dall'Agata M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4110555 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature