This is not a surprise, but the discussion up to this point has largely been on the cost of the Hep C cures...
Therapies also appear to reduce liver-related mortality.
Since use of direct acting antiviral combination therapies for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection became widespread, the need for liver transplantation for patients with the infection has plummeted, researchers reported here.
In 2007, HCV infection was listed as the reason for 23.87% of all liver transplants in Europe, and that remained constant through 2014 when the impact of direct acting antiviral medications began to hit, said Chiara Mazzarelli, MD, of A.O. Ospedale Niguarda Ca'Granda, Milan, Italy.
After that, the proportion dropped sharply each year, to the point that in 2017 about 10.6% of transplants were performed for HCV (P<0.0001).
"In contrast, the demand for livers for patients with NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) is increasing," Mazzarelli said in her late-breaker presentation at the International Liver Conference, sponsored by the European Association for the Study of the Liver. Liver transplantation for alcohol-related cirrhosis and for hepatitis B infection has remained consistent across the 11-year study period, she said.
She indicated that the reduction in transplantation observed among European patients would likely be similar in the United States and North America.
"In Europe the percentage of liver transplantations performed because of hepatitis C virus infection is rapidly declining," Mazzarelli said at a press conference. "This trend is expected to continue with the increasing access to direct acting antiviral therapy. For the first time after many years, survival of hepatitis C virus transplant recipients is improving thanks to the advent of direct acting antivirals."
"This important study does put into perspective the impact of treatment and shows that treatment can result in really relevant outcomes," said press conference moderator Markus Cornberg, MD, of Hannover Medical School in Germany.