The short-term incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma is not increased after hepatitis C treatment with direct-acting antivirals: An ERCHIVES study

Impact of All-Oral Direct-Acting Antivirals on Clinical and Economic Outcomes in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C in the United States

Approved treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) with all-oral direct-acting antivirals (DAA) therapy is now entering into its fourth year; however, little has been reported on the real-world clinical (decompensated cirrhosis [DCC] and hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]) and economic outcomes. A retrospective cohort analysis of the Truven Health MarketScan Database (2012-2016) was conducted. In a cohort of 26,105 patients with newly diagnosed HCV, 30% received all-oral DAA therapy (DAA group) and 70% were not treated (untreated group). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare the risk of developing HCC and DCC, stratified by cirrhosis status. Among patients with cirrhosis (n = 2157), DAA therapy was associated with a 72% and a 62% lower incidence of HCC (hazard ratio [HR], 0.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.15-0.52) and DCC (HR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.26-0.56). Similarly, DAA therapy was associated with a 57% and a 58% lower incidence of HCC (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.26-0.71) and DCC (HR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.30-0.58) in patients with noncirrhotic HCV (n = 23,948). A propensity score-matched cohort of 8064 HCV-infected patients who had at least a 12-month follow-up after HCV treatment was included for economic analysis. For patients with cirrhosis in the DAA group, the mean adjusted liver-related costs ($1749 vs. $4575; P < 0.001) and all-cause medical costs ($19,300 vs. $33,039; P < 0.001) were significantly lower compared with those in the untreated group. The mean adjusted costs were not statistically different between the two groups among patients without cirrhosis. Conclusion: In the short term, all-oral DAA treatment for HCV infection was associated with a decreased risk of developing HCC and DCC, resulting in decreased health care costs, especially in patients with cirrhosis. A longitudinal study is necessary to confirm our findings.

Hepatitis C Virus: No Longer a Barrier to Oncology Care

Historically, hepatitis C virus infection has posed a barrier to cancer therapies and enrollment in clinical trials for oncology patients. Oral direct acting antivirals now allow most patients, previously considered difficult to treat to be effectively (>95% sustained virologic response) and safely cured.

Development and surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with sustained virologic response after antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major risk factor for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and is a leading cause of liver-related deaths worldwide. Recently available direct-acting antiviral agent is very safe and highly effective (>95% sustained virologic response, SVR) against all genotypes of HCV. Achievement of SVR has been associated with a significant reduction of hepatic decompensation, development of HCC, and liver-related mortality. However, HCC risk is not eliminated even after SVR. The annual incidences of HCC in advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis have been estimated to be up to 2.5-4.5% even in patients with SVR. Therefore, surveillance for HCC is recommended in this high-risk patients. In this review, we will describe the clinical outcomes and the risk of HCC in patients with SVR and suggest who should receive surveillance for HCC.

No difference between direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C in hepatocellular carcinoma risk

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

It is unclear whether there are differences between direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus in risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after antiviral therapy. We aimed to compare different DAA regimens with respect to risk of de novo HCC following antiviral therapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We identified 33 137 patients who initiated hepatitis C virus antiviral treatment in the Veterans Affair healthcare system between 6 December 2013 and 31 December 2015 with one of four DAA-only regimens (± ribavirin): paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir/dasabuvir (n=6289), sofosbuvir (n=4356), sofosbuvir+simeprevir (n=3210), and ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (n=19 282). We retrospectively followed patients until 15 June 2017 to identify incident (de novo) cases of HCC. We used propensity score-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression to compare different DAA regimens with respect to HCC risk.

RESULTS

During a mean follow-up of 1.52 years, 741 new cases of HCC were diagnosed after antiviral treatment (annual incidence=1.47%). Patients treated with sofosbuvir+simeprevir had the highest annual HCC incidence (2.47%), followed by sofosbuvir (1.91%), ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (1.26%), and paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir/dasabuvir (0.95%). However, there were great differences between DAA-treated patients in the prevalence of cirrhosis, markers of advanced fibrosis, thrombocytopenia, and other HCC risk factors. After adjustment for baseline characteristics associated with HCC, there were no significant differences in HCC risk between the four DAA regimens.

CONCLUSION

There are no significant differences between DAA regimens in HCC risk after antiviral treatment. This suggests that DAAs do not have direct carcinogenic effects as it would be unlikely that different DAAs would have identical carcinogenic effects.

What Are the Benefits of a Sustained Virologic Response to Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy for Hepatitis C Virus Infection?

Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens are safe and effective at eradicating hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Unfortunately, DAAs remain expensive, so treatment of all HCV-infected patients would substantially affect health care costs. It is therefore important to continue to assess the hepatic and extrahepatic benefits of a DAA-induced sustained virologic response (SVR). A DAA-induced SVR reduces a patient's risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma and extrahepatic manifestations of HCV infection; there are also data to indicate that an SVR can reduce mortality. SVR is a relevant clinical end point, but further analyses are required to confirm its importance among diverse HCV-infected populations and to document the public health benefits of HCV elimination at the population level. We review the evidence for the benefits associated with SVRs in different clinical settings and challenges to data collection.

Hepatitis C virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma after sustained virologic response

The introduction of a direct-acting antiviral (DAA) for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, could lead to higher sustained virologic response (SVR) rates with fewer adverse events, and it could shorten the treatment duration relative to the interferon era. Although most recent clinical studies have demonstrated that the occurrence rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are decreased by SVR with both interferon-based and interferon-free-regimens, there are several reports about the unexpected observation of high rates of early tumor occurrence and recurrence in patients with HCV-related HCC undergoing interferon-free therapy despite SVR. Several mechanisms of HCC occurrence and rapid immunological changes, including cytokines and chemokines during and after DAA treatment, have also been reported. We focused on the possibilities that HCC occurs or recurs during and after DAA treatment, based on the reported clinical and basic studies. Further studies and observations will be needed to determine the short-term and long-term effects on hepatocarcinogenesis caused by the eradication of HCV with DAAs. New serum biomarkers and a follow-up system for HCV-patients with SVR should be established.

The impact of direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C on hepatocellular carcinoma risk

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) eradicate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the majority of patients. We critically evaluated the impact of DAAs on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk, a major complication of HCV infection.

RECENT FINDINGS

Large cohort studies show that patients who achieve sustained virologic response (SVR) with DAAs have a significantly lower risk of developing de novo HCC than patients who fail treatment or remain untreated. Furthermore, reduction in HCC risk is similar whether SVR is achieved with DAAs or interferon (IFN). However, DAA-induced SVR does not eliminate HCC risk entirely. Therefore, patients with pre-existing cirrhosis require ongoing surveillance even after SVR is achieved.Early, descriptive, uncontrolled reports suggested that DAAs may increase the risk of recurrent HCC. While studying HCC recurrence presents major methodologic challenges, larger studies containing appropriate comparison control groups largely refuted these concerns.

SUMMARY

Recent studies provide evidence that DAA-induced SVR reduces HCC risk.

Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein predicts early occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after sustained virologic response by direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C virus

AIM

The aim of this study is to clarify the value of serum Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (WFA⁺ -M2BP) for predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis C patients who achieved sustained virologic response (SVR) by therapy with interferon-free, direct-acting antivirals (DAAs).

METHODS

This is a retrospective cohort study that included 567 patients who underwent antiviral therapy with an interferon-free DAA regimen and achieved SVR. Serum WFA⁺ -M2BP was measured after SVR. Factors predictive of HCC occurrence and recurrence were analyzed in the patients after stratification by previous treatment history of HCC.

RESULTS

Among 518 patients who had no history of HCC, 13 developed HCC. Post-SVR WFA⁺ -M2BP ≥1.75 cut-off index (C.O.I., P < 0.001) and α-fetoprotein (AFP) level ≥6 ng/mL (P = 0.01) were significant predictors of HCC development. Multivariate analysis showed that post-SVR WFA⁺ -M2BP ≥1.75 C.O.I. was an independent factor significantly associated with the development of HCC (hazard ratio [HR] 6.0; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.8-19.4; P = 0.003). Among 49 patients who had a previous history of HCC, 22 had recurrence after SVR. Post-SVR AFP ≥6 ng/mL was the only factor associated with recurrence-free survival (HR 3.1; 95% CI, 1.3-7.5; P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Post-SVR WFA⁺ -M2BP is a predictive factor for the development of HCC in patients with no previous HCC history and treated with DAAs. Post-SVR AFP was predictive for HCC recurrence after DAA therapy.

Oral direct-acting antivirals and the incidence or recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The influence of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus on the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is conflicting.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the incidence or recurrence of HCC associated with oral DAA therapy. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase from inception to August 2017 to identify observational studies reporting on HCC among patients treated with DAAs. Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. Data were pooled by random-effects model. The primary outcome was the proportion of participants with incidence or recurrence of HCC (PROSPERO number CRD42017057040).

RESULTS

After reviewing 2080 citations, we included 8 controlled studies and 36 uncontrolled studies. The pooled proportion for incident HCC was 1.5 % (95% CI 1.0% to 2.1%; I²=90.1%; n= 542/39 145) from 18 uncontrolled studies and 3.3% (95% CI 1.2% to 9%; I² =96%; n=109/6909) from 5 controlled studies, respectively. The pooled proportion for recurrent HCC was 16.7% (95% CI 10.2% to 26%; I²=84.8%; n=136/867) from 12 uncontrolled studies and 20.1% (95% CI 5.5% to 52.1%; I²=87.5%; n=36/225) from 3 controlled studies, respectively. There was no statistically significant effect on the risk of recurrent HCC (OR 0.50, 95%CI 0.16 to 1.59; I² =73.4%) in a meta-analysis of three studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show low proportion of incident HCC, but high proportion of recurrent HCC on treatment with DAAs. Continued active surveillance for HCC after treatment with DAAs remains prudent.

De Novo Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among Liver Transplant Registrants in the Direct Acting Antiviral Era

The risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) receiving direct acting antivirals (DAAs) has been debated. This study aims to describe the incidence of HCC among patients listed for liver transplantation (LT) in the DAA era. Individuals with cirrhosis listed for LT from January 2003 to December 2015 were identified using the Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients database. Patients with HCC at listing or HCC exception within 180 days were excluded. Patients were divided into three eras based on listing date: eras 1 (2003-2010), 2 (2011-2013), and 3 (2014-2015). Incidence rates of HCC were calculated by era and compared using incident rate ratios (IRRs). The association between HCC and listing era was evaluated using Cox regression and competing risk analyses, the latter considering death and LT as competing events. Of the 48,158 eligible wait-list registrants, 3112 (6.5%) received HCC exceptions after a median of 493 days. In 20,039 individuals with HCV, the incidence of HCC was 49% higher in era 3 versus era 1 (IRR 1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24-1.79). In multivariate analysis, those in era 3 had a higher hazard of HCC compared with era 1 (hazard ratio 1.22, 95% CI 1.01-1.48). However, in multivariable competing risks analysis, with death and LT considered as competing events for de novo HCC, era was no longer associated with HCC (subdistribution hazard ratio 0.83, 95% CI 0.69-1.00).

CONCLUSION

In this large population-based cohort of LT registrants, the incidence of HCC among HCV patients has increased in the DAA era. Competing risks analysis suggests that this may be explained by changes in rates of LT and wait-list mortality in the HCV population during this time. (Hepatology 2018; 00:000-000).

Liver Disease Monitoring Practices After Hepatitis C Cure in the Underserved Population

Recent hepatitis C virus (HCV) guidelines recommend disease monitoring and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening in patients with advanced fibrosis after a sustained virologic response (SVR) with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy. However, data on practice patterns in this setting is lacking. We aimed to characterize disease monitoring and HCC screening practices post-SVR in an underserved HCV-infected cohort. Records of 192 patients who received DAA therapy at the San Francisco safety-net health care system between January 2014 and January 2016 with ≥12 months of follow-up post-SVR were reviewed. Patient characteristics were median age 58 years, 61.5% men, 39.1% White (23.4% Black, 16.7% Latino, 16.2% Asian), 78.1% English proficient, 48.9% intravenous drug use, 53.2% alcohol use, and 41% advanced (F3 and F4) fibrosis (26.6% with decompensation, 11.4% with HCC). Median post-SVR follow-up time was 22 months. A higher proportion of patients with advanced fibrosis attended liver clinic visits (mean, 1.94 ± 2.03 versus 1.12 ± 1.09 visits; P = 0.014) and had liver imaging (41.4% versus 9.73%; P < 0.001) post-SVR, but there was no difference in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) testing (72.2% versus 66.4%; P = 0.40) compared to those without advanced fibrosis. However, 20% with advanced fibrosis had no HCC screening while 35% with no advanced fibrosis had liver imaging. Three patients with cirrhosis developed new HCC. Conclusion: Although the majority of patients with advanced fibrosis in this underserved cohort received post-SVR monitoring, gaps in HCC screening were identified and new cases of HCC occurred during a short follow-up. This highlights the importance of incorporating recently enhanced guidelines to optimize post-SVR monitoring, especially in difficult to engage populations.

Impact of direct-acting antiviral agents on the development of hepatocellular carcinoma: evidence and pathophysiological issues

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is currently one of the main causes of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at a global level. Recently, a new generation of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) has entered the HCV treatment landscape, providing impressively high rates of sustained virological response (SVR), and is expected to lead to an eventual decrease in HCV-related cirrhosis, liver transplantation and mortality. However, during the first years of their use, several studies reported a possible correlation between DAA treatment and an increased risk of HCC. Following the publication of larger prospective studies, the risk of de novo HCC occurrence has clearly been proven to be lower after the achievement of SVR, regardless of antiviral treatment. On the other hand, the risk of HCC recurrence following treatment with DAAs is debatable; existing data remain controversial, possibly because of the lack of large, well designed cohorts with more homogeneous patient populations. With regard to the pathophysiology behind the above observations, especially in patients with previous HCC history, HCC development could possibly be favored by the changes in the immunological milieu and the different cellular behavior after eradication of HCV infection with DAA treatment.

Long-term remission in advanced stage hepatocellular carcinoma? A chance for cure?

Liver resection, transplantation, and local ablation are potential curative treatment options but can only be offered to patients with early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Patients with macrovascular tumor invasion and extrahepatic metastases are candidates for palliative systemic therapies. Achieving radiological complete response can be associated with long-term remission and excellent outcome. However, despite recent advancements in the medical treatment of advanced stage HCC, complete remission with available systemic treatment options still remains a rare event. This review summarizes data on radiological complete response to systemic therapies and discusses issues that may complicate the goal of achieving cure in advanced stage HCC.

Precision oncology in liver cancer

With the widespread adoption of molecular profiling in clinical oncology practice, many physicians are faced with making therapeutic decisions based upon isolated genomic alterations. For example, epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are effective in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) while anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies are ineffective in Ras-mutant colorectal cancers. The matching of mutations with drugs aimed at their respective gene products represents the current state of "precision" oncology. Despite the great expectations of this approach, only a fraction of cancers responds to 'targeted' interventions, and many early responders will ultimately develop resistance to these agents. The underwhelming success of mutation-driven therapies across all cancer types is not due to an inability to detect genetic changes in tumors; rather a deficit in functional insight into the genomic alterations that give rise to each cancer. The Achilles heel of precision oncology thus remains the lack of a robust functional understanding of an individual cancer genome that then allows prediction of the best therapy and resultant outcome for that patient. Current practice focuses on one 'actionable' mutation at a time, while solid cancers typically possess many mutations that involve different cellular sub-populations within a tumor. No method or platform currently exists to guide the interpretation of these complex data, nor to accurately predict response to treatment. This problem is particularly germane to primary liver cancers (PLC), for which only a handful of targeted therapies have been introduced. Here, we will review strategies aimed at overcoming some of these challenges in precision oncology, using liver cancer as an example.

Direct-acting antivirals and hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis C: A few lights and many shadows

With the introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA), the rate of sustained virological response (SVR) in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) has radically improved to over 95%. Robust scientific evidence supports a beneficial role of SVR after interferon therapy in the progression of cirrhosis, resulting in a decreased incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, a debate on the impact of DAAs on the development of HCC is ongoing. This review aimed to analyse the scientific literature regarding the risk of HCC in terms of its recurrence and occurrence after the use of DAAs to eradicate HCV infection. Among 11 studies examining HCC occurrence, the de novo incidence rate ranged from 0 to 7.4% (maximum follow-up: 18 mo). Among 18 studies regarding HCC recurrence, the rate ranged from 0 to 54.4% (maximum “not well-defined” follow-up: 32 mo). This review highlights the major difficulties in interpreting data and reconciling the results of the included studies. These difficulties include heterogeneous cohorts, potential misclassifications of HCC prior to DAA therapy, the absence of an adequate control group, short follow-up times and different kinds of follow-up. Moreover, no clinical feature-based scoring system accounts for the molecular characteristics and pathobiology of the tumours. Nonetheless, this review does not suggest that there is a higher rate of de novo HCC occurrence or recurrence after DAA therapy in patients with previous HCV infection.

Decreased hepatocellular carcinoma tumor burden with the achievement of hepatitis C virus sustained virologic response: unlocking the potential of T-cell-mediated immunosurveillance

We describe two cases of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) treated with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy who had dramatic improvement in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumor burden with DAA therapy alone. Both patients were diagnosed with HCC on screening magnetic resonance imaging shortly after beginning DAA therapy. Both patients achieved sustained virologic response (SVR) with dramatic improvement in HCC tumor burden on follow-up imaging without HCC treatment. Patients with multifocal or advanced HCC are infrequently treated with antiviral therapy for HCV. As a result, these cases provide unique insight into the ongoing debate regarding the impact of SVR on existing and recurrent HCC. We review the current literature regarding this debate, as well as the theory of immunosurveillance. We postulate that DAA therapy activates CD8+ T cells to induce a T-cell-mediated response and increased immunosurveillance to virus-induced liver cancer.