Trial Assesses Post-Transplant Efficacy Of Lamivudine

[Guest guest]

Trial Assesses Post-Transplant Efficacy Of Lamivudine

8th March, 2001

Hepatology 2001;33(2):424-432 - Abstract - Full text (subscr. req.)

The preliminary results of a North American multi-center study have shown

lamivudine monotherapy to be somewhat effective for treating hepatitis B

virus (HBV) patients after liver transplantation.

The study, a joint effort of several groups of researchers in the United

States and Canada, notes that lamivudine therapy prevents HBV recurrence in

some but not all patients who receive liver transplants due to chronic liver

disease.

Patients enrolled in the study were divided into two groups: those who

received liver transplants during the study, and those who did not.

Both groups were given a 100 mg per day dose of lamivudine monotherapy,

lasting for an average of 38 months in transplanted individuals and 26

months in non-transplanted patients, P. Perillo and colleagues

reported.

All of the patients, who were positive for the HBV blood marker called

hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) at study enrollment, were tested for

this marker as well as others throughout the trial and at follow-up, the

researchers said.

" Twenty-five of 42 (60%) transplanted patients with 12 or more weeks of

post-transplantation follow-up were HBsAg-negative at the last study visit, "

Perillo et al. said.

By the 39th month of treatment, 22 patients were available for follow-up.

Thirteen (59%) transplanted patients continued to be HBsAg-negative,

reported Perrillo et al. The other nine continued to demonstrate the

presence of HBV DNA.

By the 104th week of treatment, only three of 17 patients not receiving

transplants showed evidence of still another blood marker for HBV, hepatitis

Be antigen (HBeAg), the researchers said. Biochemical improvement was also

good in those patients.

HBV mutations formed at relatively the same rate in the transplanted and

non-transplanted groups ( " A multicenter United States-Canadian trial to

assess lamivudine monotherapy before and after liver transplantation for

chronic hepatitis B, " Hepatology, 2001;33(2):424-432).

" When compared with historical cohorts, lamivudine-treated patients appeared

to have improved survival, and transplanted patients had a decrease in the

rate of recurrent HBV infection, " Perrillo et al. concluded.

They recommended that the trials be continued in transplant patients with an

analysis of combination lamivudine and hepatitis B immune globulin therapy.

Key points reported in this study include:

a.. U.S. and Canadian researchers conducted a multi-center clinical trial

to examine therapeutic efficacy of lamivudine after liver transplantation

b.. Lamivudine-treated liver transplant patients had decreased hepatitis B

viral recurrence while all treated patients had increased survival

c.. Further studies need to look at combination lamivudine/hepatitis

immune globulin treatment for liver transplant patients with hepatitis B.

©Copyright 2000, via NewsRx.com

d..