Establishment of diagnosis and treatment for graft fibrosis long after pediatric liver transplantation

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26870570
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Pediatric surgery; General surgery
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: Tomita Hirofumi 慶應義塾大学, 医学部(信濃町), 共同研究員 (50464954)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 小児肝移植 / 肝線維化 / 抗ドナー抗体 / 非侵襲的診断 / ARFI / 肝硬度 / 脾硬度 / 門脈圧亢進症

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Invasive examination such as liver biopsy and endoscopic examination is necessary for assessment of liver diseases. In the current study, we performed liver and spleen stiffness measurements using ultrasound apparatus for children with chronic liver disease including liver transplantation and we compared liver and spleen stiffness measurements with the results of liver biopsy and endoscopic examinations. As a result, we found that liver and spleen stiffness measurements were useful for predicting liver fibrosis on liver biopsy examinations and esophageal varices on endoscopic examinations.
In addition, it has been known that unexplained liver fibrosis occurs after pediatric liver transplantation. We conducted a study with the cooperation of the living donor and we could find that the anti-donor specific antibody is one of the causes of liver fibrosis after pediatric liver transplantation.

Free Research Field

小児外科