Study concludes no racial disparities in long-term outcomes in recipients of liver transplantsMay 20, 2008New research published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows long-term survival and liver rejection rates are equivalent for African-American liver transplant patients as compared with patients of other races. The study also suggests that although other factors such as liver cancer or hepatitis may negatively influence long-term survival, race does not. Racial disparities in incidence, severity, methods of treatment and access to care have previously been shown in a variety of diseases, including liver disease. African-American patients appear to be underrepresented among liver transplantation recipients. In 2005, for instance, only 6.8 percent of all patients in the United Network for Organ Sharing database and 9.4 percent of liver transplant recipients were African American, compared with the general population of the United States, in which African Americans represented 12.9 percent of the total. "Survival rates after liver transplantation have been shown to be influenced by race, but earlier data on this subject has been conflicting and may not reflect current management of liver transplant recipients," says Dr. Johnny C. Hong, assistant professor of surgery, Department of Surgery and Liver and Pancreas Transplantation at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. "Although our study is the first to find equivalent long-term outcomes among racial groups after liver transplantation, access to care for all patients with end-stage liver disease clearly remains a major goal for all transplant centers. Like many diseases, our patients are best served with early involvement of a multidisciplinary team."
Liver transplantation is required for patients with severe (end-stage) liver disease. People who have liver transplants require close monitoring after their operation and must take drugs that prevent rejection of the transplanted organ (immunosuppressants) for the rest of their lives. Using information from the UCLA transplant database, researchers reviewed 2,728 patients who underwent primary liver transplantation at the Dumont-UCLA Transplant Center from 1984 to 2007. Among these patients, 57 percent were Caucasian, 28 percent were Hispanic, 11 percent were Asian and 4 percent were African American. Results were analyzed during two time periods correlating to the primary immunosuppressant drug used during that era (cyclosporine from 1984-1993 and tacrolimus from 1994-2007). The use of the modern immunosuppressant drug tacrolimus substantially reduced the risk of acute rejection, graft loss and patient death compared with cyclosporine and resulted in a marked improvement of patient and graft survival outcomes in African-American patients after liver transplantation. Statistically significant independent predictors of diminished survival in liver transplant patients were older age ( > 55 years), cryptogenic cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver cancer and hepatitis C cirrhosis. Race was not found to be a predictor of survival. Weber Shandwick Worldwide | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Liver Transplantation News Articles Noninvasive test accurately identifies advanced liver disease without biopsy Non-invasively measuring liver stiffness with transient elastography accurately diagnoses patients with late-stage liver disease, reports a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. Hepatitis C virus may need enzyme's help to cause liver disease A key enzyme may explain how hepatitis C infection causes fatty liver - a buildup of excess fat in the liver, which can lead to life-threatening diseases such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, report University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and School of Medicine researchers. Is extra-corporal liver support with prometheus safe in patients with end-stage liver disease? Patients with end-stage liver disease would benefit from liver supportive liver therapy while waiting for stabilization of hepatic functions or to enable bridging to liver transplantation. New technique improves outcome for living donor liver transplants The University of Alberta Hospital (UAH) is one of only a few centers in Canada that perform living donor liver transplantation, a surgical procedure developed in the late 1980s that expands the organ donor pool. About 80 liver transplants are done a year in Alberta, 10 of those being living-donor. A new finding in liver transplantation and antifibrinolytics? Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is associated with severe bleeding and considerable transfusion requirements. There are several reasons for this severe bleeding in OLT. Hemostatic abnormalities remain a major cause. Survival rates exceed national averages for UCSF heart, liver and lung transplant programs One-year survival rates for patients receiving heart, liver and lung transplants at UCSF Medical Center exceed national averages at statistically significant levels, according to new data compiled by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). Discovery of good -- and bad -- liver stem cells raises possibility of new treatment Many scientists believe up to 40 percent of liver cancer is caused by stem cells gone wild - master cells in the organ that have lost all growth control. But, despite years spent looking, no one has ever found these liver "cancer stem cells" - or even normal stem cells in the organ. Until now. Children's Hospital Physicians Publish Comprehensive Review of Liver Transplant Issues in Patients with Biliary Atresia The most common indication worldwide for pediatric transplantation, biliary atresia is also the most common cause of chronic liver disease in newborns. Recently, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC physicians completed a review of issues that children with biliary atresia face that lead to the need for transplantation. Who is the arch-criminal in the development of hepatopulmonary syndrome? The hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) develops when an arterial oxygenation deficiency occurs due to intra-pulmonary vascular dilatations that are often associated with severe hepatic disease. HPS occurs in 15-20% of patients with liver cirrhosis undergoing evaluation for orthotopic liver transplantation. A new chemotherapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health problem worldwide. Currently, the only chance for obtaining a cure in patients with HCC is by either a surgical resection or liver transplantation. More Liver Transplantation News Articles |
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