Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Alcoholic Liver Disease Replaces Hepatitis C Infection As The Leading Cause Of Liver Transplantation In U.S.

April 16, 2018 By European Association for the Study of the Liver

Two new independent studies report that alcoholic liver disease has now replaced hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection as the leading cause of liver transplantation in the U.S. in patients without HCC. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is also on the increase, now ranking second as a cause of liver transplantation due to chronic liver disease.

Chronic HCV infection has remained the leading indication for liver transplantation in the USA for the last two decades. However, the availability of second-generation direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) in late 2013 led to a decline in the number of HCV-related liver transplant waiting list registrations and surgeries from 2015 onwards. Alcohol consumption began to increase markedly in the U.S. during the 1990s and early 2000s, with data highlighting dramatic rises in alcohol use and high-risk drinking in recent years.

The two studies presented this week at The International Liver Congress 2018 in Paris, France, were conducted to evaluate recent trends in the aetiology of liver disease among liver transplant recipients in the U.S. in view of the changing landscape of potential risk factors. In the first study, data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) between 2005-2016 were analyzed, looking at four indications for chronic liver disease: alcoholic liver disease (ALD), NASH, HCV infection, and HCV/ALD combined. According to the results of the study, the number of liver transplant recipients with HCV peaked in 2014 (1,905 individuals) and has been declining ever since. In contrast, the number of liver transplants due to ALD and NASH has been steadily increasing and, in 2016, there were 1,624 liver transplants performed as a result of ALD, compared with 1,535 due to HCV, 1,334 due to NASH, and 424 due to HCV/ALD.

“Although we found that, overall, alcoholic liver disease became the leading indication for liver transplantation in the U.S. in 2016, NASH was not far behind,” says Dr. Jennifer Wang from the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, who presented the study findings. “Importantly, NASH is now the leading cause of liver transplantation in women, which is not entirely surprising given the higher rates of metabolic syndrome in women and the resultant increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. In African Americans and those with hepatocellular carcinoma, HCV remains the leading cause of transplantation and a major burden.”

(Image credit: Photo by Thomas Picauly on Unsplash)

The second study presented today also evaluated data from the UNOS registry, looking at first liver transplants performed in individuals without HCC between January 2012 and October 2017. As in the first study, HCV infection remained the leading aetiology for liver transplant recipients until 2016, when ALD surpassed it, accounting for 24 percent of liver transplants performed compared with 19 percent for NASH and 18 percent for HCV. In 2017, ALD, NASH, and HCV were responsible for 24 percent, 18 percent, and 17 percent of liver transplants, respectively, according to the results of this study.

“One of our most worrying findings was that patients with ALD are being listed for liver transplantation at a much younger age and with more severe disease than patients with either HCV infection or NASH,” says investigator Dr. George Cholankeril from Stanford University Medical Center. “These are very ominous trends and we need to take aggressive action to address these rising rates of liver transplantation in patients with alcoholic liver disease.”

“So far, alcoholic liver disease has received much less attention with regards to clinical and basic research than either hepatitis B or C,” says Prof. Helena Cortez-Pinto from the University Hospital of Santa Maria, Lisbon, Portugal, and EASL Governing Board Member. “It is time to change and turn our attention to ALD, both in research and of course in policies that have been shown to reduce consumption, such as increases in taxation, in order to decrease affordability.”

Related Articles Read More >

An illustration showing the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien M3 transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) system's valve being placed in the heart. [Image courtesy of Edwards Lifesciences]
The top nitinol cardiac medtech news of 2025 (so far)
A photo showing the Dualto Energy System's modular design with two generators stacked for two users at a time.
What J&J MedTech’s new Dualto says about the OR of the future — and Ottava
An illustration showing the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien M3 transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) system's valve being placed in the heart. [Image courtesy of Edwards Lifesciences]
Q&A with Darshin Patel, who led the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien M3 TMVR system’s development
A photo of nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy used for medical devices such as stents, heart valves, catheters and orthopedics.
What is nitinol and where is it used?
“mdo
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest medical device business news, application and technology trends.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe