Top

Published in:

01-04-2010 | Review

Liver Transplantation in the Ethnic Minority Population: Challenges and Prospects

Authors: Nyingi Kemmer, Guy W. Neff

Published in: Digestive Diseases and Sciences | Issue 4/2010

Abstract

In the USA, end-stage liver disease (ESLD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among ethnic minorities. Ethnic populations vary with respect to chronic liver disease prevalence, access to transplantation, and therapeutic outcomes post liver transplantation. These ethnic differences present unique challenges to healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients with chronic liver disease prior and post transplantation. This review will discuss the variations and challenges of liver transplantation in the ethnic minority population.

Armstrong GL, Wasley A, Simard EP, McQuillan GM, Kuhnert WL, Alter MJ. The prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in the United States, 1999 through 2002. Ann Intern Med. 2006;144:705–714.PubMed

Muir AJ, Bornstein JD, Killenberg PG. Peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in blacks and non-Hispanic whites. N Engl J Med. 2004;350:2265–2271. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa032502.CrossRefPubMed

Cheung RC, Currie S, Shen H, et al. Chronic hepatitis C in Latinos: natural history, treatment eligibility, acceptance, and outcomes. Am J Gastroenterol. 2005;100:2186–2193. doi:10.1111/j.1572-0241.2005.00240.x.CrossRefPubMed

Wise M, Bialek S, Finelli L, Bell BP, Sorvillo F. Changing trends in hepatitis C-related mortality in the United States, 1995–2004. Hepatology. 2008;47(4):1128–1135.CrossRefPubMed

El-Serag HB, Lau M, Eschbach K, Davila J, Goodwin J. Epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma in Hispanics in the United States. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:1983–1989. doi:10.1001/archinte.167.18.1983.CrossRefPubMed

El-Serag HB. Hepatocellular carcinoma: an epidemiologic view. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2002;35:S72–S78. doi:10.1097/00004836-200211002-00002.CrossRefPubMed

Kemmer N, Neff G, Secic M, Zacharias V, Kaiser T, Buell J. Ethnic differences in hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for liver transplantation. Dig Dis Sci. 2007;53(2):551–555.CrossRefPubMed

Peters MG, Di Bisceglie AM, Kowdley KV, et al. Differences between Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic patients with primary biliary cirrhosis in the United States. Hepatology. 2007;46:769–775. doi:10.1002/hep.21759.CrossRefPubMed

Verma S, Torbenson M, Thuluvath PJ. The impact of ethnicity on the natural history of autoimmune hepatitis. Hepatology. 2007;46:1828–1835. doi:10.1002/hep.21884.CrossRefPubMed

10.

Nguyen GC, Segev DL, Thuluvath PJ. Racial disparities in the management of hospitalized patients with cirrhosis and complications of portal hypertension: a national study. Hepatology. 2007;45:1282–1289. doi:10.1002/hep.21580.CrossRefPubMed

11.

Reid AE, Resnick M, Chang Y, Buerstatte N, Weissman JS. Disparity in use of orthotopic liver transplantation among blacks and whites. Liver Transpl. 2004;10:834–841. doi:10.1002/lt.20174.CrossRefPubMed

12.

Neff GW, Kemmer N, Kaiser T, Zacharias V, Majoras N, Safdar K. Outcomes in adult and pediatric liver transplantation among various ethnic groups. Transplant Proc. 2007;39:3204–3206. doi:10.1016/j.transproceed.2007.09.031.CrossRefPubMed

13.

Lee TH, Shah N, Pedersen RA, et al. Survival after liver transplantation: is racial disparity inevitable? Hepatology. 2007;46:1491–1497. doi:10.1002/hep.21830.CrossRefPubMed

14.

Eckhoff DE, McGuire BM, Young CJ, et al. Race: a critical factor in organ donation, patient referral and selection, and orthotopic liver transplantation? Liver Transpl Surg. 1998;4:499–505. doi:10.1002/lt.500040606.CrossRefPubMed

15.

Julapalli VR, Kramer JR, El-Serag HB. Evaluation for liver transplantation: adherence to AASLD referral guidelines in a large veterans affairs center. Liver Transpl. 2005;11:1370–1378. doi:10.1002/lt.20434.CrossRefPubMed

16.

McCormick PA, O’Rourke M, Carey D, Laffoy M. Ability to pay and geographical proximity influence access to liver transplantation even in a system with universal access. Liver Transpl. 2004;10:1422–1427. doi:10.1002/lt.20276.CrossRefPubMed

17.

Ahmad J, Bryce CL, Cacciarelli T, Roberts MS. Differences in access to liver transplantation: disease severity, waiting time, and transplantation center volume. Ann Intern Med. 2007;146:707–713.PubMed

18.

Barshes NR, Becker NS, Washburn WK, Halff GA, Aloia TA, Goss JA. Geographic disparities in deceased donor liver transplantation within a single UNOS region. Liver Transpl. 2007;13:747–751. doi:10.1002/lt.21158.CrossRefPubMed

19.

Yoo HY, Galabova V, Edwin D, Thuluvath PJ. Socioeconomic status does not affect the outcome of liver transplantation. Liver Transpl. 2002;8:1133–1137. doi:10.1053/jlts.2002.37000.CrossRefPubMed

20.

Tuttle-Newhall JE, Rutledge R, Johnson M, Fair J. A statewide, population-based, time series analysis of access to liver transplantation. Transplantation. 1997;63:255–262. doi:10.1097/00007890-199701270-00014.CrossRefPubMed

21.

Ellison MD, Edwards LB, Edwards EB, Barker CF. Geographic differences in access to transplantation in the United States. Transplantation. 2003;76:1389–1394. doi:10.1097/01.TP.0000090332.30050.BA.CrossRefPubMed

22.

Kemmer N, Safdar K, Kaiser T, Zacharias V, Neff GW. Impact of geographic location on access to liver transplantation among ethnic minorities. Transplantation. 2008;85:166–170. doi:10.1097/TP.0b013e31816223f8.CrossRefPubMed

23.

Firozvi AA, Lee CH, Hayashi PH. Greater travel time to a liver transplant center does not adversely affect clinical outcomes. Liver Transpl. 2008;14:18–24. doi:10.1002/lt.21279.CrossRefPubMed

24.

Axelrod DA, Guidinger MK, Finlayson S, et al. Rates of solid-organ wait-listing, transplantation, and survival among residents of rural and urban areas. JAMA. 2008;299:202–207. doi:10.1001/jama.2007.50.CrossRefPubMed

25.

Nair S, Eustace J, Thuluvath PJ. Effect of race on outcome of orthotopic liver transplantation: a cohort study. Lancet. 2002;359:287–293. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)07494-9.CrossRefPubMed

26.

Kemmer N. Liver transplantation trends and survival in the Asian population. Hepatology. 2008;48:568A.

27.

Tome S, Wells JT, Said A, Lucey MR. Quality of life after liver transplantation. A systematic review. J Hepatol. 2008;48:567–577. doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2007.12.013.CrossRefPubMed

28.

Bravata DM, Olkin I, Barnato AE, Keeffe EB, Owens DK. Health-related quality of life after liver transplantation: a meta-analysis. Liver Transpl Surg. 1999;5:318–331. doi:10.1002/lt.500050404.CrossRefPubMed

29.

Johnson CD, Wicks MN, Milstead J, Hartwig M, Hathaway DK. Racial and gender differences in quality of life following kidney transplantation. Image J Nurs Sch. 1998;30:125–130. doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.1998.tb01266.x.CrossRefPubMed

30.

Bakewell AB, Higgins RM, Edmunds ME. Does ethnicity influence perceived quality of life of patients on dialysis and following renal transplant? Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2001;16:1395–1401. doi:10.1093/ndt/16.7.1395.CrossRefPubMed

31.

Kemmer N, Neff GW. Ethnic variations in chronic liver diseases. Dig Dis Sci. 2008;53(5):1339–1344.CrossRefPubMed

32.

Charlton M, Seaberg E, Wiesner R, et al. Predictors of patient and graft survival following liver transplantation for hepatitis C. Hepatology. 1998;28:823–830. doi:10.1002/hep.510280333.CrossRefPubMed

33.

Velidedeoglu E, Mange KC, Frank A, et al. Factors differentially correlated with the outcome of liver transplantation in HCV+ and HCV− recipients. Transplantation. 2004;77:1834–1842. doi:10.1097/01.TP.0000130468.36131.0D.CrossRefPubMed

34.

Picciotto FP, Tritto G, Lanza AG, et al. Sustained virological response to antiviral therapy reduces mortality in HCV reinfection after liver transplantation. J Hepatol. 2007;46:459–465. doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2006.10.017.CrossRefPubMed

35.

Bozorgzadeh A, Orloff M, Abt P, et al. Survival outcomes in liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma, comparing impact of hepatitis C versus other etiology of cirrhosis. Liver Transpl. 2007;13:807–813. doi:10.1002/lt.21054.CrossRefPubMed

36.

Maheshwari A, Yoo HY, Thuluvath PJ. Long-term outcome of liver transplantation in patients with PSC: a comparative analysis with PBC. Am J Gastroenterol. 2004;99:538–542. doi:10.1111/j.1572-0241.2004.04050.x.CrossRefPubMed

37.

Nagashima N, Watanabe T, Nakamura M, Shalabi A, Burdick JF. Decreased effect of immunosuppression on immunocompetence in African–Americans after kidney and liver transplantation. Clin Transplant. 2001;15:111–115. doi:10.1034/j.1399-0012.2001.150207.x.CrossRefPubMed

38.

Dirks NL, Huth B, Yates CR, Meibohm B. Pharmacokinetics of immunosuppressants: a perspective on ethnic differences. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2004;42:701–718.PubMed

39.

Pescovitz MD, Guasch A, Gaston R, et al. Equivalent pharmacokinetics of mycophenolate mofetil in African-American and Caucasian male and female stable renal allograft recipients. Am J Transplant. 2003;3:1581–1586. doi:10.1046/j.1600-6135.2003.00243.x.CrossRefPubMed

40.

Chen ML. Ethnic or racial differences revisited: impact of dosage regimen and dosage form on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Clin Pharmacokinet. 2006;45:957–964. doi:10.2165/00003088-200645100-00001.CrossRefPubMed

41.

Maggard M, Goss J, Ramdev S, Swenson K, Busuttil RW. Incidence of acute rejection in African–American liver transplant recipients. Transplant Proc. 1998;30:1492–1494. doi:10.1016/S0041-1345(98)00330-3.CrossRefPubMed

42.

Gaynor JJ, Moon JI, Kato T, et al. A cause-specific hazard rate analysis of prognostic factors among 877 adults who received primary orthotopic liver transplantation. Transplantation. 2007;84:155–165. doi:10.1097/01.tp.0000269090.90068.0f.CrossRefPubMed

43.

Navarro V, Herrine S, Katopes C, Colombe B, Spain CV. The effect of HLA class I (A and B) and class II (DR) compatibility on liver transplantation outcomes: an analysis of the OPTN database. Liver Transpl. 2006;12:652–658. doi:10.1002/lt.20680.CrossRefPubMed

44.

Neumann UP, Langrehr JM, Lang M, et al. Impact of HLA matching upon outcome after liver transplantation. Transplant Proc. 2002;34:1499–1500. doi:10.1016/S0041-1345(02)02946-9.CrossRefPubMed

45.

Langrehr JM, Puhl G, Bahra M, et al. Influence of donor/recipient HLA-matching on outcome and recurrence of hepatitis C after liver transplantation. Liver Transpl. 2006;12:644–651. doi:10.1002/lt.20648.CrossRefPubMed

46.

Tector AJ, Mangus RS, Chestovich P, et al. Use of extended criteria livers decreases wait time for liver transplantation without adversely impacting post transplant survival. Ann Surg. 2006;244:439–450.PubMed

47.

Uemura T, Ikegami T, Sanchez EQ, et al. Late acute rejection after liver transplantation impacts patient survival. Clin Transplant. 2008;22(3):316–323.PubMed

48.

Guadagnoli E, McNamara P, Evanisko MJ, Beasley C, Callender CO, Poretsky A. The influence of race on approaching families for organ donation and their decision to donate. Am J Public Health. 1999;89:244–247. doi:10.2105/AJPH.89.2.244.CrossRefPubMed

49.

Siminoff LA, Burant CJ, Ibrahim SA. Racial disparities in preferences and perceptions regarding organ donation. J Gen Intern Med. 2006;21:995–1000. doi:10.1007/BF02743151.CrossRefPubMed

Title: Liver Transplantation in the Ethnic Minority Population: Challenges and Prospects
Authors: Nyingi Kemmer
Guy W. Neff
Publication date: 01-04-2010
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Digestive Diseases and Sciences / Issue 4/2010
Print ISSN: 0163-2116
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2568
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-009-0803-7

Obesity Clinical Trial Summary

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.

Developed by: Springer Medicine

Highlights from the ACC 2024 Congress

Year in Review: Pediatric cardiology

Pediatric Cardiology Video

Watch Dr. Anne Marie Valente present the last year's highlights in pediatric and congenital heart disease in the official ACC.24 Year in Review session.

Year in Review: Pulmonary vascular disease

Cardiopulmonary Comorbidity Video

The last year's highlights in pulmonary vascular disease are presented by Dr. Jane Leopold in this official video from ACC.24.

Year in Review: Valvular heart disease

Valvular Heart Disease Video

Watch Prof. William Zoghbi present the last year's highlights in valvular heart disease from the official ACC.24 Year in Review session.

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Heart Failure Video

Watch this official video from ACC.24. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt discusses last year's major advances in heart failure and cardiomyopathies.

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Heart Failure Video

Watch this official video from ACC.24. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt discusses last year's major advances in heart failure and cardiomyopathies.

Watch now

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

16-04-2024 Type 2 Diabetes News

Incentivised to exercise

11-04-2024 Lifestyle Modifications News

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

10-04-2024 Myocardial Infarction News

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page

Image Credits

STEP AAG HeroTeaserCollection image/© Tarek / Generated with AI / Stock.adobe.com, ACC 2024 Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease: Year in Review/© 2024 American College of Cardiology, ACC 2024 Pulmonary Vascular Disease: Year in Review/© 2024 American College of Cardiology, ACC 2024 Valvular Heart Disease: Year in Review/© 2024 American College of Cardiology, ACC 2024 HF and Cardiomyopathies: Year in Review/© 2024 American College of Cardiology, Woman out walking/© Seventyfour / stock.adobe.com (symbolic image with model), Woman checking smartwatch /© saltdium / stock.adobe.com (symbolic image with model), Cardiac catheterization/© Damian / stock.adobe.com

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2010

Cytomegalovirus Infection in Patients with Active Inflammatory Bowel Disease

A Comparison of Antibody Testing, Permeability Testing, and Zonulin Levels with Small-Bowel Biopsy in Celiac Disease Patients on a Gluten-Free Diet

Aquaporin-2 Urinary Excretion in Cirrhosis: Relationship to Vasopressin and Nitric Oxide

Multiple Rectal Polyps in a Young Woman with Constipation

Esophageal Intraepithelial Eosinophils in Dysphagic Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Appendiceal Orifice Inflammation in Ulcerative Colitis

Highlights from the ACC 2024 Congress

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage