Assessment of Intrahepatic Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) RNA Levels at the Time of Liver Transplantation

January 27, 2017 updated by: Schiano, Thomas D., MD

An Assessment of Intrahepatic HCV RNA Levels at the Time of Liver Transplantation in Patients With HCV Receiving Antiviral Therapy While on the Liver Transplant Waiting List Compared to Those Not Currently Receiving Therapy

The purpose of this study is to measure intrahepatic HCV RNA levels at the time of liver transplantation in patients receiving antiviral therapy while on the liver transplant waiting list. This will eventually be correlated with the degree of hepatic fibrosis present within different geographic sites in the cirrhotic liver. Tissue samples will be obtained from the patient's liver explant as well as hilar lymph nodes. Upon the removal of the cirrhotic liver at the time of transplantation, the explant will be biopsied multiple times in different segments of the liver and preserved for viral detection studies as well as analysis of the degree of fibrosis. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) will be obtained for viral detection at the time of transplantation. Serum HCV RNA levels will also be obtained at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months post liver transplantation.

Study Hypotheses:

  • Virological relapse or non-response is higher is patients with cirrhosis due to failure of antiviral medication to concentrate adequately in a fibrotic liver having an altered sinusoidal micro-architecture
  • HCV may persist in different geographic regions of the fibrotic liver in part predicated on blood supply to that area and this may have an effect on overall virological response. These differences in viral persistence and detection may exist in different lobes of the liver or even within a few centimeters within the same portion of the liver parenchyma.
  • PBMC and hilar lymph nodes may be extrahepatic reservoirs of HCV viral persistence in patients receiving antiviral therapy and may account for virological relapse post-therapy
  • There may be varying degrees of fibrosis within the same cirrhotic liver which may impact on hepatic synthetic function and antiviral response to treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

20

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10029
        • Mount Sinai School of Medicine Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C on the Mount Sinai Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute's Liver Transplant Waiting list may be eligible for participation

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients age 18-80 with chronic HCV on the liver transplant waiting list may be eligible for participation
  • The following subjects will be enrolled:

    • Patients undergoing liver transplantation who are documented HCV viral load undetectable while on antiviral therapy
    • Patients receiving anti-viral therapy and who have a detectable HCV viral load
    • Patients not currently receiving antiviral therapy and are HCV PCR (+) will be included and serve as a comparison group

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who are co-infected with HIV and/or HBV will not be included

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
HCV RNA (-) on anti-viral therapy
Patients undergoing liver transplantation who are documented HCV viral load undetectable while on antiviral therapy
HCV RNA (+) on anti-viral therapy
Patients undergoing liver transplantation who are receiving anti-viral therapy and who have a documented detectable HCV viral load
HCV RNA (+) not on anti-viral therapy
Patients undergoing liver transplantation who are not currently receiving anti-viral therapy and are documented viral load positive will be included and serve as a comparison group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
HCV RNA PCR levels
Time Frame: Time of Transplantation
The primary objective is to detect and quantitate HCV RNA PCR levels in different anatomic regions of the liver at the time of liver transplantation to ascertain whether there is similar geographic presence and/or clearance of HCV during antiviral therapy
Time of Transplantation

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
HCV persistence
Time Frame: Time of Transplantation
To ascertain whether HCV persistence within the liver is predictive of virological relapse post liver transplantation.
Time of Transplantation
Hepatic Fibrosis
Time Frame: Time of Transplantation
To assess the degree of hepatic fibrosis at the site of intrahepatic HCV viral detection in order to ascertain whether HCV viral detection correlates with the degree of fibrosis. This study will also examine whether there can be different degrees of hepatic fibrosis in different geographic portions of the same liver and whether there would be a correlation with the patients' natural MELD score, degree of hepatic synthetic function and ultimate virological response to antiviral therapy.
Time of Transplantation
Extrahepatic reservoirs
Time Frame: Time of Transplantation
To examine whether hilar lymph nodes and PBMC are extrahepatic reservoirs of HCV in patients receiving antiviral therapy and then to correlate this with intrahepatic detection of HCV and overall virological response.
Time of Transplantation

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Thomas D Schiano, MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

December 1, 2017

Study Completion (Anticipated)

June 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 17, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 17, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

April 22, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

January 30, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 27, 2017

Last Verified

January 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • MISP-50064
  • 13-00099 (Other Identifier: Mount Sinai PPHS)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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