Immediate Listing for Liver Transplantation Versus Standard Care for Child–Pugh Stage B

Background: Liver transplantation improves survival of patients with end-stage (Child–Pugh stage C) alcoholic cirrhosis, but its benefit for patients with stage B disease is uncertain. Objective: To compare the outcomes of patients with Child–Pugh stage B alcoholic cirrhosis who are immediately listed for liver trans-plantation with those of patients assigned to standard treatment with delay of transplantation until progression to stage C disease. Design: Randomized, controlled trial. Setting: 13 liver transplantation programs in France. Patients: 120 patients with Child–Pugh stage B alcoholic cirrhosis and no viral hepatitis, cancer, or contraindication to transplantation. Interventions: Patients were randomly assigned to immediate list-ing for liver transplantation (60 patients) or standard care (60 patients). Measurements: Overall and cancer-free survival over 5 years