title: Hepatitis C virus infection can affect lymphoproliferative disorders only as a cofactor for Epstein-Barr virus in liver transplant recipients: PTLD.Int survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hepatitis C virus infection has a 10.5% frequency in liver transplant posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders. Studies have suggested that hepatitis C virus infection plays a role in developing posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders. Pooling data of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders developing in liver recipients from the literature, we analyzed and compared characteristics, behavior, and prognoses of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders arising in hepatitis C virus-positive versus negative liver graft recipients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a search for the available data though PubMed and Google Scholar for reports of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders and hepatitis C virus infection in liver transplant recipients. Overall, 29 studies were found and their data are included in the analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, data of 212 liver transplant patients were included. Sixty-three percent were male. No difference was found between hepatitis C virus-positive liver transplant patients with posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders compared to their hepatitis C virus-negative counterparts regarding sex, time from transplant to lymphoma development, lymphoma cell type, remission, mortality rate, multiorgan involvement, disseminated posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders, and histopathologic evaluations (P > .1 for all). Hepatitis C virus-positive liver transplant recipients representing posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders who were concomitantly positive for Epstein-Barr virus were significantly more likely to develop lymphomas in the early posttransplant period (26 [67%] vs 16 [40%]; P = .024) and to complicate liver (19 [63%] vs 8 [30%]; P = .017) than hepatitis C virus-/Epstein-Barr virus+ patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hepatitis C virus infection alone has no significant effect on lymphoproliferative disorders after liver transplant; but when combined with Epstein-Barr virus infection, it represents some significant different presentations of the disease. However, no survival effect was found for hepatitis C virus with or without simultaneous Epstein-Barr virus infection, in the posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders setting. Future prospective studies are needed for confirming our results.
authors.affiliation: The Internist Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. khedmat.h@gmail.com
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khedmat
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taheri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000401:mortality*; D008232:Lymphoproliferative Disorders / Q000401:mortality*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality*; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis