(DECISION) Decompensated Cirrhosis: identification of new combinatorial therapies based on systems approaches

Project summary

In 2013, cirrhosis was responsible for 1.2 million deaths worldwide. This mortality is mainly due to cirrhosis decompensation, i.e. development of ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, and/or gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and its progression to acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Patients with decompensated cirrhosis receive many treatments such as intravenous and oral absorbable antibiotics, oral non-absorbable antibiotics, albumin, proton-pump inhibitors, laxatives, diuretics, betablockers, vasoconstrictors, statins, anticoagulants, steroids and antiviral agents. Despite these multiple treatments, ACLF or mortality in patients with decompensation of cirrhosis remains high (15% at day 28, 28% at day 90) because of large interindividual variability in precipitating events, in clinical presentation and in response to treatment. This heterogeneity calls for treatment personalization according to underlying mechanisms.

DECISION is to enhance our understanding, at systems level, of the pathophysiology of decompensation of cirrhosis leading to ACLF or death to decrease patients’ mortality at day 28