The robustness of this observation is limited by the fact that approximately a third of ��steroid-free�� patients read this resumed steroid therapy and by the protocol-driven withdrawal of steroids in almost half the ��steroid-treated�� patients. Nevertheless, the results raise questions about the necessity of administering steroids during the first three months after kidney transplantation. The patient population that could obtain the most benefit from avoiding oral steroids remains to be defined in future studies. Acknowledgments The study was funded by Novartis Pharma SAS. Medical writing support by a freelance medical writer was funded by Novartis Pharma SAS. Conflict of Interests G. Choukroun has received speaker’s honoraria from Novartis and research grants from Novartis, Roche, and Genzyme. N.

Kamar has received honoraria from Novartis, Astellas, Roche, Genzyme, Fresenius, Amgen, MSD, and BMS and is a Consultant for Novartis and BMS. G. Mourad has received honoraria from Sanofi and research funding from Amgen. C. Legendre has received speaker’s honoraria from Alexion, Novartis, and LFB, consultancy fees from Roche and Novartis, and travel funding from Alexion and Novartis. P. Merville has received speaker’s honoraria from Roche, research funding from Novartis, and travel funding from Astellas and is an Advisory Board Member for Novartis. M. Kessler has received speaker’s honoraria and travel funding from Novartis. S. Quer��, F. Di Giambattista, and A. Lecuyer are employees of Novartis. The other authors have no conflict of interests to declare regarding the publication of this paper except for travel funding in relation to the current study.

Authors’ Contribution A. Thierry, G. Mourad, M. B��chler, G. Choukroun, O. Toupance, N. Kamar, F. Villemain, Y. Le Meur, C. Legendre, P. Merville, M. Kessler, A.-E. Heng, B. Moulin, A. Lecuyer, and G. Touchard recruited patients and collected data. A. Thierry and F. Di Giambattista analyzed the data. S. Quer�� provided biostatistical support.
One-year survival rates for liver transplantation currently stand at more than 80% in the US and Europe [1, 2]; however, the demand for liver transplants far outstrips the number of available donor livers as increasing numbers of patients are referred for transplantation.

Moreover, the global Entinostat incidence of conditions that may ultimately require a liver transplant (hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), nonalcohol fatty liver disease, and cirrhosis) is predicted to increase [3�C6], which would further drive demand for the procedure. This may be balanced by a reduction in liver transplants required owing to hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a result of the use of new potent antivirals. The success of liver transplantation is limited by shortages of suitable donor organs, adverse events of immunosuppressive drugs, and recurrence of disease.