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Use of antiviral therapy in surveillance: impact on outcome of hepatitis B‐related hepatocellular carcinoma
Author(s) -
Chan Stephen L.,
Mo Frankie K. F.,
Wong Vincent W. S.,
Liem Giok S.,
Wong Grace L. H.,
Chan Vicky T. C.,
Poon Darren M. C.,
Loong Herbert H. F.,
Yeo Winnie,
Chan Anthony T. C.,
Mok Tony S. K.,
Chan Henry L. Y.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
liver international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.873
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1478-3231
pISSN - 1478-3223
DOI - 10.1111/j.1478-3231.2011.02634.x
Subject(s) - medicine , hepatocellular carcinoma , antiviral therapy , hepatitis b virus , hepatitis b , hazard ratio , liver function , gastroenterology , combination therapy , antiviral treatment , oncology , immunology , chronic hepatitis , virus , confidence interval
Background Antiviral therapy for hepatitis B virus ( HBV ) infection is frequently prescribed for patients with chronic HBV infection during surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ). In patients who subsequently develop HCC , the impact of antiviral therapy on the outcome of HCC remains unclear. Aims We aimed to study the impact of antiviral therapy on the survival of patients who developed HCC . Methods From two prospective surveillance cohorts, the use of antiviral therapy for patients with HCC was retrospectively reviewed. We compared the overall survival, liver function and tumour characteristics between patients with and without antiviral therapy during surveillance. Multivariate analysis was conducted to determine the independent prognostication of antiviral therapy. Results During a median follow‐up of 10.1 years of 1429 patients, 148 cases of HCC were diagnosed and followed up for a median of 5.7 years. Twenty‐nine patients were given antiviral therapy during surveillance and continued treatment after diagnosis of HCC . The median survival of this group of patients was better than the rest of cohorts (hazard ratio: 0.472; 95% CI : 0.25–0.89; P = 0.0191). Use of antiviral therapy remained an independent prognostic factor after adjustment for demographic factors and tumour staging on multivariate analysis. Exploratory analysis revealed that patients who commenced antiviral therapy during surveillance had lower HBV DNA , lower serum alanine transaminase, better hepatic reserves and higher rate of local treatment at diagnosis of HCC . Conclusion This study provides evidence that commencement of antiviral therapy during the surveillance period is associated with improvement in overall survival in HBV ‐related HCC .