Ten years of sirolimus therapy in orthotopic liver transplant recipients

Background. Sirolimus therapy has been used in orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) recipients diagnosed with a variety of diseases; chronic graft rejection (CR), calcineurin associated renal toxicity, preemptive immune suppression, calcineurin related neurotoxicity, preemptive therapy in transplant recipients with history of hepatocellular carcinoma, and steroid resistant allograft rejection. Methods. A search for the medical literature and experiences involving sirolimus was done. Results. Several animal and human reports evaluating the use sirolimus in liver transplant recipients are found and discussed. Conclusion. Sirolimus has been used for multitude of indications, primarily based on anecdotal experiences. However, reports of sirolimus related side effects have decreased the transplant communities' enthusiasm towards promoting this agent as a safe immune suppression agent.