Thomas Decaens, Françoise Roudot‐Thoraval, Solange Hadni‐Bresson, Carole Meyer, Jean Gugenheim, Francois Durand, Pierre‐Henri Bernard, Olivier Boillot, Laurent Sulpice, Yvon Calmus, Jean Hardwigsen, Christian Ducerf, Georges‐Philippe Pageaux, Sebastien Dharancy, Olivier Chazouilleres, Daniel Cherqui, Christophe Duvoux – 8 September 2006 – Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) indication for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is currently based on the Milan criteria.

Sung Hoon Yang, Kyung‐Suk Suh, Hae Won Lee, Eung‐Ho Cho, Jai Young Cho, Yong Beom Cho, Nam‐Joon Yi, Kuhn Uk Lee – 8 September 2006 – Positron emission tomography (PET) using F‐18 fluoro‐2‐deoxy‐d‐glucose (18F‐FDG) is now well established as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for the detection of a variety of malignant tumors. However, in the case of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), several investigators have reported controversial conclusions and an inadequate sensitivity for PET (50‐55%).

Stuart A. McCluskey, Keyvan Karkouti, Duminda N. Wijeysundera, Karen Kakizawa, Mohammed Ghannam, Ahmed Hamdy, David Grant, Gary Levy – 1 September 2006 – Massive blood transfusion (MBT) remains a serious and common occurrence in liver transplantation surgery. This retrospective cohort study was undertaken to identify preoperative predictors of MBT and to develop a risk index for MBT in liver transplantation. Data were retrospectively collected on all liver transplantations carried out at a single institution between January 1998 and March 2004.

Tilak U. Shah, Richard C. Semelka, Vasilis Voultsinos, Jorge Elias Jr., Ersan Altun, Ertan Pamuklar, Zeynep Firat, David A. Gerber, Jeffrey Fair, Mark W. Russo – 1 September 2006 – The detection of main portal vein thrombosis (PVT) on preoperative imaging of liver transplant candidates has important technical implications for the transplantation procedure. Data are scarce regarding the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at detecting PVT. The aim of our study was to compare preoperative findings of the portal vein on MRI to operative findings at liver transplantation.

George N. Ioannou – 1 September 2006 – This study aimed to develop and validate a comprehensive model that predicts survival after liver transplantation based on pretransplant donor and recipient characteristics. Complete data were available from the United Network for Organ Sharing for 20,301 persons who underwent liver transplantation in the United States between 1994 and 2003. Proportional‐hazards regression was used to identify the donor and recipient characteristics that best predicted survival and incorporate these characteristics in a multivariate model.

Giuseppe Fusai, Parveen Dhaliwal, Nancy Rolando, Caroline Anne Sabin, David Patch, Brian Ritchie Davidson, Andrew Kenneth Burroughs, Keith Rolles – 1 September 2006 – Predictive factors for intrahepatic cholestasis after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) have not yet been established. We sought to identify the incidence and risk factors associated with prolonged severe intrahepatic cholestasis (PSIC) after OLT. We assessed 428 consecutive patients undergoing their first OLT.

Anneke Funk, Mouna Mhamdi, Heinz Hohenberg, Hans Will, Hueseyin Sirma – 29 August 2006 – Entry and intracellular transport of hepatitis B viruses have several unusual, largely unknown aspects. In this study, we explored the mode of virus entry using the duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) and the primary hepatocyte infection model. Upon internalization, viral particles were enriched in an endosomal compartment, as revealed by biochemical and ultrastructural analysis. Virus‐containing vesicles harbored early endosome markers.

Anaïs Vallet‐Pichard, Vincent Mallet, Stanislas Pol – 29 August 2006

Hyung Joon Yim, Munira Hussain, Ying Liu, Stephen N. Wong, Scott K. Fung, Anna S. F. Lok – 29 August 2006 – Multi‐drug resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been reported in hepatitis B patients who received sequential antiviral therapy. In vitro studies showed that HBV constructs with mutations resistant to lamivudine and adefovir have marked reduction in sensitivity to combination of lamivudine and adefovir, whereas constructs with mutations resistant to either drug remain sensitive to the other drug.

29 August 2006