Liver Shorts -August 2020

V Cardenas et al. JPGN 2020; 71: 197-202.  Incidence and Sequelae of Liver Injury Among Children Treated for Solid Tumors: Analysis of a Large Single-Center Prospective Cohort

  • Of 1136 solid tumor patients, 160 (14%) experienced liver injury, and the overall frequency of DILI was 4%.
  • DILI was the leading identified cause of liver injury (31%), followed by infection (17%), metastatic/malignant biliary disease (13%), and perioperative liver injury (13%).
  • Most DILI cases (>90%) were mild acute hepatocellular injury episodes that did not result in modification to the chemotherapy plan, and all DILI eventually resolved.

N Kapila et al. Hepatology 2020; 72: 32-41. Full Text Link: Hepatitis C Virus NAT‐Positive Solid Organ Allografts Transplanted Into Hepatitis C Virus–Negative Recipients: A Real‐World Experience

Background: As of April 1, 2019, an estimated 103,000 kidney, 13,500 liver, and 3,800 heart transplant (HT) candidates are awaiting transplantation

Key findings:

  • Seventy‐seven patients who were HCV negative underwent solid organ transplantation from a donor who was HCV viremic. Only one has been a HCV-treatment nonresponder (though several have not completed SVR12).
  • “Our study is the largest to describe a real‐world experience of the transplantation of HCV‐viremic organs into recipients who are aviremic. In carefully selected patients, the use of HCV‐viremic grafts in the DAA era appears to be efficacious and well tolerated.”

M Martinello et al. Hepatology 2020; 72: 7-18Short‐Duration Pan‐Genotypic Therapy With Glecaprevir/Pibrentasvir for 6 Weeks Among People With Recent Hepatitis C Viral Infection

  • This was an  open‐label, single‐arm, multicenter, international pilot study; adults with recent HCV (duration of infection < 12 months) received glecaprevir/pibrentasvir 300/120 mg daily for 6 weeks.
  • At baseline, median estimated duration of infection was 29 weeks (range 13, 52) and median HCV RNA was 6.2 log10 IU/mL (range 0.9, 7.7). SVR12 in the intention‐to‐treat and per‐protocol populations was achieved in 90% (27/30) and 96% (27/28), respectively.

H Verkade et al. JPGN 2020; 71: 176-83. Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Partial External Biliary Diversion in Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis

  • With regard to  pruritus improvement, 104/155 (67%) were responders, 14/155 (9%) had partial response, and 37/155 (24%) were nonresponders.

K Patel et al. Hepatology 2020; 72: 58-71. Cilofexor, a Nonsteroidal FXR Agonist, in Patients With Noncirrhotic NASH: A Phase 2 Randomized Controlled Trial

  • “Cilofexor for 24 weeks was well‐tolerated and provided significant reductions in hepatic steatosis, liver biochemistry, and serum bile acids in patients with NASH.”

Targeted Therapy for PFIC type 2

Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis, type 2, (PFIC2) is due to decrease (or absent) function of the bile salt export pump (BSEP) encoded by ABCB11 has been treated mainly in a symptomatic manner with medicines like ursodeoxycholic acid and sometimes biliary diversion.  PFIC2 has been associated with increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

A recent study (E Gonzales, et al. Hepatology 2015; 62: 558-66) indicates that newer therapies targeting the specific mutation may be effective.

In this study, treatment with oral 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PB) in four patients improved pruritus, serum bile acid concentrations, and liver function tests. 4-PB is considered a chaperone drug and may partially correct mistrafficking.

The associated editorial (pg 349-50) notes that 4-PB has an unpleasant taste and requires ingestion of a large number of pills. In addition, patients with complete loss of BSEP, 4-PB will not be effective. Finally, even in patients with a clinical response, it is unclear if this will lower the risk of HCC.

A second study (S Varma et al. Hepatology 2015; 62: 198-206) retrospectively studied 22 children with PFIC2.  “Children with late-onset presentation, lower ALT, and intracellular BSEP expression are likely to respond, at least transiently, to nontransplant treatment.”  Nontransplant treatment in this cohort included ursodeoxycholic acid in 19 (10 mg/kg thrice daily) and partial biliary diversion in 3.  Higher ALT values were considered to be >165 IU/L. Another point in this study: response to treatment can be slow and take many months.

My take: These studies provide useful information about which patients with PFIC2 respond medically and introduce a new therapy, 4-PB.

Related blog posts:

Is this really newsworthy? Perhaps next week: man with venomous snakes says they make great pets?

Perhaps next week the story will be: man with venomous snakes says they make great pets?