Clin Mol Hepatol.  2019 Jun;25(2):168-171. 10.3350/cmh.2018.1014.

Direct-acting antivirals response in hepatocellular carcinoma: Does the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma matter?

Affiliations
  • 1Hepatobiliary Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. fish6069@gmail.com
  • 2Faculty of Internal Medicine and Hepatitis Research Center, College of Medicine, and Center for Lipid Science and Aging Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
  • 3Department of Occupational Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
  • 4Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
  • 5Center For Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-devices (IDS²B) and Department of Biological Science and Technology, College of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan.

Abstract

During the clinical trial development of directly acting antivirals (DAAs), evidence regarding the treatment efficacy in chronic hepatitis C patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was scarce because these patients have always been excluded. Apart from the clinical trials, more HCC patients are currently being treated in daily practice, given that these treatments are highly effective and involve well-tolerated regimens. Large scale, real-world studies have demonstrated potentially suboptimal antiviral treatment efficacy in HCC patients who received DAAs. It is postulated that the impairment of the bioavailability of DAAs may account for the inferior treatment response. However, the results could not be generalized across all studies. The differing results were attributed to diverse patient characteristics, suboptimal regimens or imprecise definitions of active cancer statuses at the time of treatment initiation. Additional large-scale studies that utilize the treatment of choice in clearly defined HCC patients with different disease severities are warranted to clarify the issue.

Keyword

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); Chronic hepatitis C (CHC); Hepatitis C virus (HCV)

MeSH Terms

Antiviral Agents*
Biological Availability
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular*
Hepatitis C, Chronic
Humans
Treatment Outcome
Antiviral Agents
Full Text Links
  • CMH
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr