Effect of Cyclosporine A Versus Tacrolimus on Response to Antiviral Therapy After Hepatitis C Genotype -4 Recurrence Post Liver Transplantation

Background and Aim: The immunosuppression influence on the response to antiviral therapy (AVT) for recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in liver transplant (LT) recipients remains controversial, especially for the rarely investigated genotype 4.This study aims to compare the effects of the two widely used calcineurin inhibitors(CNIs)(Cyclosporine A (CsA) and tacrolimus (Tac)) on the therapeutic response to different AVT regimens. Method: In126 living donor liver transplant (LDLT) recipients with recurrent HCV infection, participants were categorized to three groups according to AVT. Group one received pegylated interferon (Peg IFN-α 2a) and ribavirin (RBV) (n= 44), group two received the direct antiviral agent (DAA) sofosbuvir plus RBV (n=52) and group three received daclatasvir, sofosbuvir (other DAAs) plus RBV(n=30) each group was further subdivided according to primary immunosuppression (CsA or Tac). The sustained virological response (SVR) and relapse rates were considered the primary therapeutic outcomes of AVT. The virological response guided therapy end points for AVT were considered the secondary outcomes.