Background/Aims: Despite great progress, antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C in patients with prior hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been rarely investigated. We evaluated the effi cacy and safety of antiviral therapy following treatment for hepatitis C-related HCC. Methods: Thirteen patients (age 34 to 60 years) who were treated with peginterferon plus ribavirin after treatment for HCC were reviewed. Results: There were 6 patients with genotype 1 and 7 patients with genotype 2. All patients showed advanced fi brosis (≥F3) but belonged to the Child-Pugh class A. Treatment was stopped in 2 patients because of recurrent HCC and in 1 patient due to a lack of early virologic response. Seven patients achieved sustained virologic response and three patients relapsed. The sustained virologic response rate was 54% overall, 17% in genotype 1, and 86% in genotype 2. No signifi cant adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Antiviral therapy should not be excluded in patients who were previously treated with HCC with genotype 2 chronic hepatitis C, in which an effi cacious antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C was feasible. Additional study is needed to prove the validity of antiviral therapy in patients with genotype 1 hepatitis C-related HCC. (Gut Liver 2011;5:77-81) Key Words: Chronic hepatitis C; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Peginterferon; Ribavirin
INTRODUCTIONCirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develops in about a third of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients over a period of 20 years.1 However, it is well known that disease progression can be halted by achievement of a sustained virologic response (SVR) following antiviral therapy. [2][3][4] Although treatment outcomes have evolved greatly since combination therapy was introduced to treat CHC, 5-7 antiviral treatment in patients with CHC-related HCC has rarely been reported. This study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of antiviral therapy in CHC patients after treatment for HCC.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
PatientsThe medical records of 283 patients who received combination therapy with peginterferon (pegIFN) and ribavirin from May 2002 to July 2008 were reviewed. Among them, patients having prior appropriate treatment for HCC and no evidence of viable HCC at the start of antiviral therapy were enrolled. Patients with other liver disease such as chronic hepatitis B, a history of alcohol ingestion (≥30 g/day), human immunodeficiency virus infection, or obesity (body mass index ≥27 kg/m 2 ) were excluded. After or during antiviral treatment, alfa-fetoprotein combined with imaging study of a dynamic computed tomography or abdominal ultrasonography was checked every 3 months.One hundred eighty μg of pegIFN -2a (Pegasys ; Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland) once a week was injected subcutaneously. Ribavirin (Viramid ; Ilsung Pharmaceuticals Co., Seoul, Korea) was given orally twice daily at a dose of 1,000 mg/day for patients weighing 75 kg or less and 1,200 mg/day for those weighing more than 75 kg for genotype 1; 800 mg/ day was given f...