The status of liver transplantation for hepatitis C.
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects 3% of the world's population, or approximately 170 million people. Most of those acutely infected progress to chronic infection and are unresponsive to existing antiviral treatment. Over a 20-year period, chronic HCV infection leads to cirrhosis and the sequelae of end-stage liver disease, including hepatic encephalopathy, ascites, variceal haemorrhage and hepatocellular carcinoma. Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the optimal treatment for decompensated HCV cirrhosis, but is limited by organ availability and universal graft reinfection. This review discusses the results with OLT for HCV from the Dumont-UCLA Liver Transplant Center and discusses future directions in the management of HCV.
Cameron
Andrew M
AM
Dumont-UCLA Liver Transplant Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Department of Surgery, 10833 LeConte Ave, 77-132 CHS, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. acameron@mednet.ucla.edu
Busuttil
Ronald W
RW
D000818:Animals; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000601:surgery; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use
D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines