Hepatitis C virus therapy, hepatocyte drug metabolism, and risk for acute cellular rejection

Marcelo Kugelmas, Michael J. Osgood, James F. Trotter, Thomas Bak, Michael Wachs, Lisa Forman, Igal Kam, Gregory T. Everson – 30 December 2003 – We recently reported on a series of patients who experienced acute cellular rejection (ACR) during the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in our posttransplantation cohort. Our hypothesis is that HCV clearance improves hepatic microsomal function, which in turn results in lower trough cyclosporine (CyA) and tacrolimus (TAC) levels, predisposing the patient to ACR.

Patterns of recurrence after initial treatment in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma

T. Kumada, S. Nakano, I. Takeda, K. Sugiyama, T. Osada, S. Kiriyama, Y. Sone, H. Toyoda, S. Shimada, M. Takahashi, T. Sassa – 30 December 2003 – To assess intrahepatic metastasis (IM) and multicentric occurrence (MO) after initial treatment of small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) ≦ 2 cm in diameter, we performed clinical and pathological studies in 112 patients who underwent percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) or hepatic resection for HCC from January 1985 to December 1994.

Immune response to cyclin B1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

G. Covini, E. K. Chan, M. Nishioka, S. A. Morshed, S. I. Reed, E. M. Tan – 30 December 2003 – Proteins expressed by plasmids encoding human cyclins and cyclin‐dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) were used as antigens in immunoblotting. Fifteen of 100 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were found to have autoantibodies reactive with cyclin B1 and with a 40‐kd degradation product of cyclin B1‐glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST) fusion protein. Only one serum was found to react with cyclin A and another single serum with CDK2 but no antibodies were detected to cyclin D1 and E.

In situ nucleic acid hybridization of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex‐E2 in primary biliary cirrhosis: Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex‐E2 messenger RNA is expressed in hepatocytes but not in biliary epithelium

K. Harada, J. Van de Water, P. S. Leung, R. L. Coppel, Y. Nakanuma, M. E. Gershwin – 30 December 2003 – Pyruvate dehydrogenase‐E2, or a cross‐reactive molecule, has been shown by a variety of immunohistochemical methods to be present in increased amounts in biliary epithelial cells (BEC) in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

Internal biliary stenting in orthotopic liver transplantation

Mark W. Johnson, Patricia Thompson, Ann Meehan, Pat Odell, M. Jane Salm, David A. Gerber, Steven L. Zacks, Michael W. Fried, Roshan Shrestha, Jeffrey H. Fair – 30 December 2003 – Biliary complications account for significant morbidity in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), with a reported incidence ranging from 6% to 47%, and many centers are reassessing the need and options available for stenting the biliary anastomosis. We report on our experience using a 6F Silastic, double‐J, ureteral stent as an internal biliary stent in OLT.

Improved survival with screening for hepatocellular carcinoma

Linda L. Wong, Whitney M. Limm, Richard Severino, Livingston M. Wong – 30 December 2003 – Hepatocellular cancer (HCC) is a frequent cause of cancer death worldwide. Although successful screening programs exist in Asian countries, the role for screening in the United States is not clear. The purpose of this study is to determine if screening has an effect on survival in a predominantly Asian population in Hawaii. We retrospectively reviewed cases of HCC from 1993 to 1998 for demographic data, risk factors, symptoms, stage, treatment, and survival.

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