[Current concepts for prophylaxis and treatment of hepatitis B virus reinfection after liver transplantation].

Pretransplant complete viral suppression and posttransplant combined hepatitis B immunglobulin (HBIG)/nucleos(t)ide analog therapy lead to successful prevention of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reinfection in approximately 95% of HBV patients. Low-dose intramuscular HBIG protocols have yielded cost reduction by > 50%. However, passive immunoprophylaxis is still expensive and requires close monitoring of the liver transplant (LT) patient. HBIG-free therapeutic regimens with new promising nucleos(t)ide analog combinations are currently being investigated for their efficacy and safety as first-line therapy in clinical studies.Third-generation HBV vaccines, including the S, pre-S1, and pre-S2 regions or combination vaccines with immunostimulatory adjuvants, seem to be more immunogenic than the currently available vaccines and may allow long-term discontinuation of HBIG in selected responders. Adoptive transfer of immunity against HBV was successful in some LT patients in clinical studies. Future investigations need to elucidate, if donor-derived immunity is a transient immunologic phenomenon or persistently controls HBV.