title: Outcomes for patients with HCV after liver transplantation in Korea: a multicenter study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  HCV-related liver disease is the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) in Western countries, whereas HCV LT is rare in Korea. We conducted a survey of HCV RNA-positive patients who underwent LT and investigated the prognostic factors for patient survival and the effects of immunosuppression.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the multicenter records of 192 HCV RNA-positive patients who underwent LT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 78.8%, 75.3%, and 73.1%, respectively. Excluding the cases of hospital mortality (n = 23), 169 patients were evaluated for patient survival. Most patients were genotype 1 (n = 111, 65.7%) or genotype 2 (n = 42, 24.9%). The proportion of living donors for LT (n = 135, 79.9%) was higher than that of deceased donors (deceased donor liver transplantation [DDLT], n = 34, 20.1%). The median donor and recipient ages were 32 years and 56 years, respectively. Twenty-eight patients (16.6%) died during the observation period. Seventy-five patients underwent universal prophylaxis and 15 received preemptive therapy. HCV recurrence was detected in 97 patients. Recipients who were older than 60, received DDLT, used cyclosporine, or suffered acute rejection had lower rates of survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patent survival rates of HCV patients after LT in Korea were comparable with other countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Man
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang-Woong
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Gi-Won
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Bo-Hyun
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hae Won
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Nam-Joon
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Choon Hyuck David
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Suk
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Joh
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Suk-Koo
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Gyu
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Acute rejection; Antiviral treatments; Hepatitis C virus; Survival; Tacrolimus