Multicentre experience using daclatasvir and sofosbuvir to treat hepatitis C recurrence - The ANRS CUPILT study

The future of liver transplantation for viral hepatitis

In hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients, transplantation can be justified by decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or both. During the last decade, HCV infection accounted for about 30% of the indications for transplantation in Europe and North America. Direct antiviral agents (DAAs) are highly effective at curing HCV, even in patients with end-stage cirrhosis. In the future, the incidence of HCV-related decompensated cirrhosis will continue to decrease. The incidence of HCC will also decrease, but a large cohort of patients with cirrhosis will still be at risk of developing HCC even after HCV has been cured. They will continue to represent potential candidates for transplantation. Overall, HCV will account for a significantly lower proportion of indications for transplantation in the future. However, generalization of DAAs is unlikely to affect the total transplantation volume as the gap between donors and potential recipients markedly exceeds 30%. In addition, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a rapidly growing indication for transplantation. The high barrier to resistance nucleos(t)ide analogues (NUCs) have been used for several years to treat hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Decompensated HBV cirrhosis now represents a very uncommon indication for transplantation. HCC remains the leading indication in HBV-infected patients awaiting transplantation. NUCs plus anti-HBs immune globulins or NUCs alone are highly effective at preventing post-transplant HBV recurrence. However, continuous prophylaxis is still needed as extrahepatic HBV particles persist with a potential for recurrence. Post-transplant immunosuppression facilitates recurrence. In the future, an important challenge will be to cure HBV by eliminating residual HBV particles.

Reversion of disease manifestations after HCV eradication

Chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) may lead to hepatic fibrosis and eventually cirrhosis, at which stage, patients have a substantial risk of liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver-related death. Moreover, HCV infection is associated with several extrahepatic manifestations which impact the quality of life and increase the non-liver-related mortality rate. For patients with compensated liver disease, interferon (IFN)-based antiviral therapy has been a treatment option for over two decades. Long-term follow-up studies indicated that among those with sustained virological response (SVR) the extend of hepatic fibrosis can regress and that their risk of cirrhosis-related complications (including HCC) is reduced, also in case of cirrhosis. Recent population-based studies extended these observations for solid extrahepatic outcomes, such as end-stage renal failure and cardiovascular events. Most importantly, SVR has been associated with prolonged overall survival. These results highlight the importance of the development of new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), by which almost all patients are able to eradicate HCV in a comfortable manner. Based on the excellent first experiences with the DAAs, physicians gained confidence to use these drugs among patients with decompensated cirrhosis on a more regular basis as well. This was not possible with interferon therapy. Also in this high risk population the DAAs show high SVR rates with improvements in biochemical parameters of liver function shortly after therapy, especially in case of SVR. In fact, some patients could actually be removed from the liver transplantation waiting list due to clinical improvement following DAA therapy. How these short-term results translate into a prolonged (long-term) survival has yet to be determined, as well as which patients with decompensated liver disease are likely or not to benefit from viral eradication. Here we review the current data regarding the beneficial clinical outcome with antiviral therapy as well the remaining uncertainties in this field, both for patients with compensated liver disease and patients with decompensated liver disease.

Optimum timing of treatment for hepatitis C infection relative to liver transplantation

The approval of direct-acting antiviral agents that may be given orally in an interferon-free regimen has greatly changed the landscape of treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, especially for patients with the most severe disease, who have decompensated cirrhosis, or who are waiting for or have undergone liver transplantation. Treatment with interferon proved to be ineffective and poorly tolerated because of high risks of infection and transplant rejection. The availability of new drugs poses new questions about the optimum time to give treatment to prevent HCV recurrence, taking into account efficacy, tolerance, and drug-drug interactions. Treatment is acceptable before and after transplantation, but the two strategies have subtle differences. In this Review, we present the available data on the treatment of HCV infection before and after transplantation, and discuss new challenges for practice.