Hepatitis C virus and liver transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the most common indication for liver transplantation in North America and Europe. While hepatitis C recurrence is common after transplantation, 5-year graft and patient survival in HCV-infected patients are similar to those of patients transplanted for other chronic liver diseases. With longer periods of follow-up, the proportion of patients with fibrosis or cirrhosis increases and graft loss does occur because of recurrent disease. Both viral and host factors have been linked to risk of disease progression. Specific therapies to eradicate infection or slow down disease progression are under study, and the most promising results to date have been obtained with combined interferon and ribavirin.