Key clinical point : Approximately half of chronic hepatitis C patients required HCC treatment after a sustained viral response by direct-acting antivirals (DAA).
Major finding: Cumulative 5-year HCC recurrence was 45% and 65%, of hepatitis C patients in curative and palliative treatment groups, respectively. Predictors of early recurrence included AFP greater than 7 ng/mL at 12 weeks after DAA, time from HCC complete response (CR) to DAA initiation of less than 1 year, and the two or more HCC treatments necessary to achieve CR. Predictors of late recurrence included cirrhosis (hazard ratio 1.85), two or more HCC nodules (HR 1.52), and previous palliative HCC treatment (HR 1.71).
Study details: The data come from a retrospective, multicenter cohort study of 365 consecutive adults with chronic hepatitis C who required treatment for HCC after hepatitis C cure via direct-acting antivirals.
Disclosures: The study received no outside funding. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.
Source: Ogawa E et al. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Aug 9. doi: 10.1111/jgh.15659.