title: Systematic review: anti-viral therapy of recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the first cause of liver transplantation worldwide. Recurrence of infection is constant, and compromises patient and graft survival.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide an updated review of the main treatments of recurrent HCV.
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE (1990 to August 2010) and national meeting abstract search. Search terms included hepatitis C, liver transplantation, treatment, sustained virological response. An emphasis was placed on randomised trials.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anti-viral therapy based on pegylated interferon and ribavirin must be considered before liver transplantation, but is poorly tolerated and has poor results in patients with cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma. Anti-viral therapy can be administrated systematically early after liver transplantation, or in patients with established recurrent chronic hepatitis. Combination of pegylated interferon alpha plus ribavirin results in a sustained virological response of up to 30% in patients with histological HCV recurrence. The results of a small trial of polyclonal anti-HCV to prevent recurrence were disappointing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Currently available anti-viral therapy is effective only in a minority of transplanted patients infected with HCV. Specifically targeted anti-viral therapies combining interferon alpha and ribavirin, or a combination of antiprotease and antipolymerase components, associated with a genetic prediction of anti-viral response and blocking HCV cell entry should improve the long-term prognosis of recurrent hepatitis C in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Institut des Maladies de l'Appareil Digestif, Hôtel-Dieu, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guillouche
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Féray
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012254:Ribavirin; D007372:Interferons