Background & Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of death in patients with chronic hepatitis. In this international collaboration, we sought to develop a global universal HCC risk score to predict the HCC development for patients with chronic hepatitis. Methods: A total of 17,374 patients, comprising 10,578 treated Asian patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 2,510 treated Caucasian patients with CHB, 3,566 treated patients with hepatitis C virus (including 2,489 patients with cirrhosis achieving a sustained virological response) and 720 patients with non-viral hepatitis (NVH) from 11 international prospective observational cohorts or randomised controlled trials, were divided into a training cohort (3,688 Asian patients with CHB) and 9 validation cohorts with different aetiologies and ethnicities (n = 13,686). Results: We developed an HCC risk score, called the aMAP score (ranging from 0 to 100), that involves only age, male, albuminbilirubin and platelets. This metric performed excellently in assessing HCC risk not only in patients with hepatitis of different aetiologies, but also in those with different ethnicities (C-index: 0.82-0.87). Cutoff values of 50 and 60 were best for discriminating HCC risk. The 3-or 5-year cumulative incidences of HCC were 0-0.8%, 1.5-4.8%, and 8.1-19.9% in the low-(n = 7,413,

Background Nilotinib inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity of ABL1/BCR-ABL1, as well as KIT, platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs), and the discoidin domain receptor. Gain-of-function mutations in KIT or PDGFRα are key drivers in most gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs). This trial was designed to test the efficacy and safety of nilotinib vs imatinib as first-line therapy for patients with advanced GISTs. Methods This randomised, open-label, multicentre phase 3 trial included 647 adult patients with previously untreated, histologically confirmed, metastatic and/or unresectable GISTs. Patients were stratified by prior adjuvant therapy and randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive oral imatinib 400 mg once daily or oral nilotinib 400 mg twice daily. Centrally reviewed progression-free survival (PFS) was the primary endpoint. Response rates, toxicity, and overall survival were also analysed for the overall population and for mutation-defined subsets. Efficacy endpoints used the intention to treat principle. Here, the final results are reported. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00785785. Findings Because the futility boundary was crossed at a preplanned interim analysis, trial accrual terminated in April 2011. At final analysis of the core study (data cutoff, October 2012), PFS was higher with imatinib overall (hazard ratio [HR] 1.47) and in the KIT exon 9 subgroup (HR 32.46) but roughly similar between arms in the KIT exon 11 subgroup (HR 1.12). Sensitivity analyses suggested that informative censoring may have contributed, because of the high proportion of premature nilotinib progressions declared by local investigators and the design changes implemented following the interim analysis, potentially biasing PFS data in favour of the nilotinib arm. The most common adverse events were nausea, diarrhoea, and peripheral oedema in the imatinib arm and rash, nausea, and abdominal pain in the nilotinib arm. The most common serious adverse event in both arms was abdominal pain (imatinib, n=11 [3.5%]); nilotinib, n= 14 [4.4%]). Interpretation Our results suggest that nilotinib is not an optimal treatment approach for first-line GIST; however, future studies may identify patient subsets form whom first-line nilotinib could be of clinical benefit. Funding Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

Background and Aims: Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) has similar efficacy to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) but with improved renal and bone safety in chronic hepatitis B patients studied outside of China. We report 3-year results from two phase 3 studies with TAF in China (Clinicaltrials. gov: NCT02836249 and NCT02836236). Methods: Chinese hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive and -negative chronic hepatitis B patients with viremia and elevated alanine aminotransferase were randomized 2:1 to TAF or TDF treatment groups and treated in a double-blind fashion for 144 weeks (3 years). Efficacy responses were assessed by individual study while safety was assessed by a pooled analysis. Results: Of the 334 patients (180 HBeAg-positive and 154 HBeAg-negative) randomized and treated, baseline characteristics were similar between groups. The overall mean age was 38 years and 73% were male. The mean HBV DNA was 6.4 log 10 IU/mL. The median alanine aminotransferase was 88 U/L, and 37% had a history of antiviral use. At week 144, the proportion with HBV DNA <29 IU/mL was similar among the two groups, with TAF at 83% vs. TDF at 79%, and TAF at 93% vs. TDF at 92% for the HBeAg-positive and -negative patients, respectively. In each study, higher proportions of TAF than TDF patients showed normalized alanine aminotransferase (via the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the China criteria) and showed loss of HBsAg; meanwhile, the HBeAg seroconversion rates were similar. Treatment was well-tolerated among the TAF patients, who showed a smaller median decline in creatinine clearance (−0.4 vs. −3.2 mL/min; p=0.014) and less percentage change in bone mineral density vs. TDF at hip (−0.95% vs. −1.93%) and spine (+0.35% vs. −1.40%). Conclusions: In chronic hepatitis B patients from China, TAF treatment provided efficacy similar to TDF but with better renal and bone safety at 3 years.

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