Effect of nucleoside analog use in patients with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Long-Term Outcomes after Switching to Tenofovir Alafenamide in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

We sought to determine the long-term outcomes of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) cases switching to tenofovir alafenamide (TAF, n = 104, median age = 63.5 years). Data at switching to TAF (baseline) and those at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years from switching to TAF were compared. At baseline, HB envelop antigen (HBeAg) seropositivity was found in 20 patients (19.2%), and undetectable HBV-DNA in 77 patients (74.0%). Percentage of detectable HBV-DNA significantly reduced at any time point. HB surface antigen (HBsAg) levels significantly reduced at 3, 4, and 5 years. The percentage of HBeAg seropositivity significantly reduced at 5 years. HB core related antigen levels did not significantly change. In patients with baseline HbeAg seropositivity, HbsAg levels significantly reduced at any time point, and a similar trend was found in patients without HBeAg seropositivity. In patients with baseline FIB4 index >1.85, HBsAg levels significantly reduced at 3, 4, and 5 years, and in patients with baseline FIB4 index <1.85, HBsAg levels significantly reduced at any time point. The estimated glomerular filtration rate significantly reduced only at 5 years. The discontinuation rate owing to the side effects of TAF was 0%. In conclusion, switching to TAF therapy in patients with CHB may be effective and safe at least up to 5 years.

Long-term outcomes after hepatectomy of huge hepatocellular carcinoma: A single-center experience in China

BACKGROUND

Currently, hepatectomy remains the first-line therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, surgery for patients with huge (>10 cm) HCCs is controversial. This retrospective study aimed to explore long-term survival after hepatectomy for patients with huge HCC.

METHODS

The records of 188 patients with pathologically confirmed HCC who underwent curative hepatectomy between 2007 and 2017 were reviewed; patients were divided into three groups according to tumor size: huge (>10 cm; n = 84), large (5-10 cm; n = 51) and small (<5 cm; n = 53) HCC. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), and log-rank analysis was performed for pairwise comparisons among the three groups. Risk factors for survival and recurrence were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazard model.

RESULTS

The median follow-up period was 20 months. Although the prognosis of small HCC was better than that of huge and large HCC, OS and DFS were not significantly different between huge and large HCC (P = 0.099 and P = 0.831, respectively). A family history of HCC, poor Child-Pugh class, vascular invasion, diolame, pathologically positive margins, and operative time ≥240 min were identified as independent risk factors for OS and DFS in a multivariate model. Tumor size (>10 cm) had significant effect on OS, and postoperative antiviral therapy and postoperative complications also had significant effects on DFS.

CONCLUSIONS

Huge HCC is not a contraindication of hepatectomy. Although most of these patients experienced recurrence after surgery, OS and DFS were not significantly different from those of patients with large HCC after resection.

Proposed model for the prediction of intrahepatic covalently closed circular DNA level in patients with chronic hepatitis B

AIM

We sought to create a prediction model for intrahepatic covalently closed circular DNA (IH-cccDNA) level in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and to validate the model's predictive accuracy.

METHODS

Patients who did not receive previous nucleoside analogue (NA) therapy were assigned to the training cohort (n = 57), and those who received previous NA therapy were assigned to the validation cohort (n = 69). Factors linked to IH-cccDNA levels in the training cohort were analyzed and a formula to predict IH-cccDNA levels was constructed. Next, the reproducibility of that formula was assessed.

RESULTS

In the multivariate analysis for the prediction of IH-cccDNA level in the training cohort, fasting blood sugar (FBS) (P = 0.0227), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) (P = 0.0067) and log₁₀ (HB surface antigen [HBsAg]) (P = 0.0497) were significant, whereas HB core-related antigen (HBcrAg) tended to be significant (P = 0.0562). The formula was constructed and named the FBS-cres score based on the variables used (FBS, HBcrAg, HBeAg, and HBsAg). The FBS-cres score was calculated as: 3.1686 - (0.0148 × FBS) + (0.1982 × HBcrAg) + (0.0008168 × HBeAg) + (0.1761 × log₁₀ (HBsAg)). In the training cohort, a significant correlation was noted between HBcrAg and IH-cccDNA levels (P < 0.0001, r = 0.67), whereas the FBS-cres score was more closely correlated to IH-cccDNA level (P < 0.0001, r = 0.81). In the validation cohort, significant correlation was found between HBcrAg and IH-cccDNA levels (P = 0.0012, r = 0.38), whereas the FBS-cres score was more closely linked to IH-cccDNA levels (P < 0.0001, r = 0.51). Similar tendencies were observed in all subgroup analyses.

CONCLUSION

Our proposed model for the prediction of IH-cccDNA level could be helpful in CHB patients.

Efficacy of Nucleoside Analogs for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Curative Treatment: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIM

The efficacy of nucleoside analogs (NAs) for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative treatment remains unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of these agents by conducting a comprehensive meta-analysis of available studies.

METHODS

We searched several databases including Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Clinical Trials, and Web of Science, according to PRISMA guidelines. We considered all randomized controlled trials and cohort studies that met the inclusion criteria. Statistical analyses were conducted using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 14.0.

RESULTS

Twenty-one studies with 8752 participants were included in the final analysis. The pooled data showed that patients treated with NAs had significantly lower 1- and 3-year HCC recurrence rates (relative risk [RR] 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.65-0.90; P = 0.001 and RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.71-0.88; P < 0.001, respectively), but there was no difference in 5-year recurrence rates (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.74-1.03; P = 0.10). Regarding overall survival (OS), patients treated with NAs had significantly higher 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates (RR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.08; P = 0.003; RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.16-1.34; P < 0.001; and RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.18-1.39; P < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSION

NA therapy has the potential to reduce the risk of early recurrence and improve OS in patients with HBV-related HCC after curative treatment, compared with placebo or no treatment. Further research including more homogeneous studies with large sample sizes is required to improve the reliability of these conclusions.

Asia-Pacific clinical practice guidelines on the management of hepatocellular carcinoma: a 2017 update

There is great geographical variation in the distribution of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with the majority of all cases worldwide found in the Asia–Pacific region, where HCC is one of the leading public health problems. Since the “Toward Revision of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) HCC Guidelines” meeting held at the 25th annual conference of the APASL in Tokyo, the newest guidelines for the treatment of HCC published by the APASL has been discussed. This latest guidelines recommend evidence-based management of HCC and are considered suitable for universal use in the Asia–Pacific region, which has a diversity of medical environments.

Nucleoside analogs treatment delay the onset of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with HBV-related cirrhosis

Whether Nucleos(t)ide analogs(NA) treatment can delay the onset of HCC remains unclear. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients with HBV-related cirrhosis and HCC from 2000 to 2012. Cox proportional hazards model was used to explore the association between NA treatment and postponement of HCC development, the dependent variable was time interval from cirrhosis treatment towards the onset of HCC, and the covariates included age, sex, family history, compensation status at baseline. A total of 1155 HCC patients treated with NAs (n = 528, lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir) and non NA (n = 627) for more than 24 months before the occurrence of HCC were incorporated into the cohort. Compared with the non-NA group, NAs therapy was associated with delaying the onset of HCC in patients with cirrhosis. Significant factors were: adefovir treatment (n = 181; p = 0.0072; HR: 0.792; 90% CI: 0.687–0.914), entecavir treatment (n = 83; p = 0.0068; HR: 0.716; 90% CI: 0.585-0.877), lamivudine switched to adefovir treatment (n = 95, p = 0.0808; HR: 0.822; 90% CI: 0.684 to 0.989). But Lamivudine monotherapy was not a significant factor (n = 102; p = 0.6877; HR: 1.045; 90% CI: 0.873–1.250). Long-term NA treatment (> 6 months, except for lamivudine monotherapy) can delay the onset of HCC in patients with HBV-related cirrhosis, and applying high barrier NA to resistance is important in these patients.

Development of algorithms based on serum markers and transient elastography for detecting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B patients: Significant reduction in liver biopsy

AIM

To develop algorithms for detecting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with the aim of reducing unwarranted liver biopsy.

METHODS

For 307 CHB patients, the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), the fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4), and the result of transient elastography with FibroScan (FS) were obtained when a liver biopsy was carried out. All patients were classified based on APRI or FIB-4 score and further assessed by FS results. Patients who remained unclassified after two steps of evaluation were considered to need liver biopsy.

RESULTS

Algorithm implementation found that APRI + FS significantly lowered the requirement for liver biopsy for the detection of significant fibrosis compared to either individual APRI or FS screening (65.1% vs 75.9% or 78.5%, P = 0.003 or <0.001, respectively). The combination of FIB-4 + FS significantly reduced the need for liver biopsy compared to single FIB-4 or FS (58.3% vs 67.4% or 78.5%, P = 0.019 or <0.001, respectively). The FIB-4 + FS algorithm also reduced the need for liver biopsy for detection of significant fibrosis in patients ≥50 years old compared to APRI + FS (22.6% vs 56.5%, P < 0.001), with a relatively lower accuracy (83.9% vs 98.4%, P = 0.004). Only 3.6% or 1.3% of patients needed liver biopsy for diagnosis of cirrhosis after screening with APRI + FS or FIB-4 + FS, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The APRI + FS and FIB-4 + FS algorithms could significantly reduce the need for liver biopsy with high accuracy, sensitivity, and positive predictive value for diagnosis of significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in CHB patients.

Long-term survival of patients undergoing liver resection for very large hepatocellular carcinomas

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to assess long-term survival after liver resection for huge hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

Patients with stage I-III HCC who underwent hepatectomy from 2002 to 2010 were identified retrospectively from prospective national databases and followed until December 2012. Patients were assigned into four groups according to tumour size: less than 3·0 cm (small), 3·0-4·9 cm (medium), 5·0-10·0 cm (large) and over 10·0 cm (huge). The primary endpoint was overall survival. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model were used for survival analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 11 079 patients with HCC (mean(s.d.) age 59·7 (12·0) years) were eligible for this study. Median follow-up was 72·5 months. Patients with huge HCC had the worst prognosis; overall survival rates for patients with small, medium, large and huge HCC were 72·0, 62·1, 50·8 and 35·0 per cent respectively at 5 years, and 52·6, 41·8, 35·8 and less than 20·0 per cent at 10 years (P < 0·001). Multivariable analysis showed that tumour size affected long-term survival (hazard ratio (HR) 1·31, 1·55 and 2·38 for medium, large and huge HCC respectively versus small HCC). Prognostic factors for huge HCC were surgical margin larger than 0·2 cm (HR 0·70; P = 0·025), poor differentiation (HR 1·34; P = 0·004), multiple tumours (HR 1·64; P < 0·001), vascular invasion (HR 1·52; P = 0·008), cirrhosis (HR 1·37; P = 0·013) and the use of nucleoside analogues (HR 0·69; P = 0·004).

CONCLUSION

Huge HCCs have a worse prognosis than smaller HCCs after liver resection. A wide resection margin and antiviral therapy with nucleoside analogues may be associated with favourable long-term survival.

How have the recent advances in antiviral therapy impacted the management of virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma?

INTRODUCTION

Whether the recent advances in antiviral therapy including nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) or interferon (IFN) impacts the management of patients with virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear.

AREA COVERED

The beneficial effects of antiviral therapy on HCC patients receiving curative treatment, transhepatic arterial chemoembolization (TACE), or radiotherapy are reviewed and discussed.

EXPERT OPINION

For patients with HCV-related HCC after curative treatment, interferon (IFN)-based therapy has been shown to improve the survival and reduces the risk of HCC recurrence. However, it carries the risk of adverse effects, especially in cirrhotic patients. Therefore, the benefit of IFN should be weighted against its risk in each individual. For patients with HBV-related HCC after curative treatments, antiviral treatment with NA has been found to improve liver function, overall survival, and possibly reduce the risk of HCC recurrence. In contrast, these benefits were not consistently observed in those receiving IFN treatment. In HCC patients receiving palliative TACE or radiotherapy, HBV reactivation occurs in a small proportion of them, and preemptive NA treatment can reduce the risk of hepatitis flare due to viral reactivation. Therefore, NA treatment after curative treatments or TACE is strongly recommended for HCC patients with high viral load (HBV DNA> 2000 IU/mL).

Adjuvant antiviral therapy for hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma after curative treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis

AIM

To investigate whether adjuvant antiviral treatment could improve prognosis and entecavir is the optimal nucleoside/nucleotide analog (NA) regimen after curative therapy of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

A comprehensive electronic search was performed. All controlled trials comparing antiviral treatment with placebo or no treatment for HBV-related HCC after curative treatment were included. The pooled hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using Stata 12.0 software. An indirect treatment comparison method was used to compare the relative efficacy of different NA strategies.

RESULTS

Twenty-one studies containing 8072 patients were included. NA was found to significantly improve recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). Alternatively, for interferon, a non-significant benefit was found. By adjusted indirect comparisons among entecavir, lamivudine and adefovir, entecavir were found to display almost but not significant superiority to the other NA in improving RFS. No tendency favoring a specific NA regimen was found for OS.

CONCLUSION

In HBV-HCC patient after curative treatment, NA improve the prognosis significantly but the role of interferon remains to be elucidated; entecavir was not found to be superior to other NA based on available data.

Evaluation of Antiviral Therapy Performed after Curative Therapy in Patients with HBV-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An Updated Meta-Analysis

Background. The long-term prognosis after curative therapy for hepatitis B virus- (HBV-) related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unsatisfactory due to the high incidence of recurrence. The effect of treatment with nucleotide analogues (NAs) in patients with HBV-related HCC after curative therapy remains unclear. Objective. To assess the impact of using NAs after curative therapy. Method. A computerized literature search was performed; eligible studies were identified from databases. The pooled risk ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs were calculated using Review Manager 5.3. Result. The meta-analysis included a total of 15 studies with 8060 patients. The one-year and three-year recurrence (one-year recurrence: RR 0.41 [95% CI 0.28 to 0.61]; P < 0.00001; three-year recurrence: RR 0.63 [95% CI 0.43 to 0.94]; P = 0.001) and the one-, three-, and five-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were significantly better in the treatment group. Conclusion. NAs can reduce the recurrence and improve the prognosis of HBV-related HCC after curative therapy.

Efficacy of antiviral therapy with nucleotide/nucleoside analogs after curative treatment for patients with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

A systematic review was conducted to evaluate whether or not antiviral therapy with nucleotide/nucleoside analogs (NA) have survival benefit for patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative treatment.

METHODS

An electronic search of PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library was performed to identify comparative studies in which the adjuvant effects of NA for patients with HBV-related HCC after curative treatment were evaluated. Primary outcome included survival rate, and secondary outcomes included tumor recurrence rate and side effects. Review Manager 5.1.6 software was used for meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Twelve studies involving 6682 patients were included in our review. Meta-analysis results demonstrated that significant differences favoring the antiviral treatment groups were observed in 1-year survival rate (RR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.53-0.79, P<0.0001), 3-year survival rate (RR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.46-0.74, P<0.0001), and 5-year survival rate (RR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.43-0.74, P<0.0001) compared with the control group. After NA was administered, recurrence was significantly reduced after one year (RR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.64-0.93, P=0.006) and three years (RR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.71-0.93, P=0.002) but not after five years (RR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.76-1.16, P=0.55) compared with non-NA therapy.

CONCLUSION

Current evidence showed that antiviral therapy with NA could improve survival and reduce early recurrence for patients with HBV-related HCC after curative treatment. More high-quality prospective trials are expected.

Antiviral therapy improves the survival rate and decreases recurrences and fatalities in liver cancer patients following curative resection: A meta-analysis

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of postoperative antiviral treatment on tumor recurrence, fatalities and survival of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection-related primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A systematic meta-analysis was performed. All the studies comparing nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) versus placebo or no treatment were considered. The results were expressed as relative ratio (RR) for 1-, 3- and 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS), recurrence HCC and fatalities with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using STATA 11.0. In total, 15 trials with 7,619 patients were included. There were significant improvements for 1-, 3- and 5-year RFS (RR, 1.09; P=0.003; RR, 1.202; P<0.001; and RR, 1.219; P=0.02; respectively) and in 3- and 5-year OS (RR, 1.087, P=0.006; and RR, 1.186; P<0.001) in the NAs group compared with the control group. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the results. In addition, the significantly high rate of recurrence HCC and fatalities existed in the control group (RR, 1.301; P=0.002; and RR, 1.816, P<0.001). One study was for an entecavir (ETV)-treated group compared with an adefovir (ADV)-treated group and lamivudine (LAM)-treated group. The 3-year disease-free survival rate for the ETV group was significantly better compared with the ADV and LAM groups [hazard ratio (HR), 0.810; P=0.049; and HR, 0.737; P=0.007]. The present study demonstrated the beneficial effects of NAs therapy following curative treatment of HBV-related HCC. ETV may be the superior choice compared to ADV or LAM for the antiviral treatment.

Management of hepatitis B virus infection during treatment for hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Although liver resection is considered the most effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), treatment outcomes are unsatisfactory because of the high rate of HCC recurrence. Since we reported hepatitis B e-antigen positivity and high serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA concentrations are strong risk factors for HCC recurrence after curative resection of HBV-related HCC in the early 2000s, many investigators have demonstrated the effects of viral status on HCC recurrence and post-treatment outcomes. These findings suggest controlling viral status is important to prevent HCC recurrence and improve survival after curative treatment for HBV-related HCC. Antiviral therapy after curative treatment aims to improve prognosis by preventing HCC recurrence and maintaining liver function. Therapy with interferon and nucleos(t)ide analogs may be useful for preventing HCC recurrence and improving overall survival in patients who have undergone curative resection for HBV-related HCC. In addition, reactivation of viral replication can occur after liver resection for HBV-related HCC. Antiviral therapy can be recommended for patients to prevent HBV reactivation. Nevertheless, further studies are required to establish treatment guidelines for patients with HBV-related HCC.

Nucleos(t)ide analogs in the prevention of hepatitis B virus related hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the most common cancer types and causes of cancer related mortality worldwide. Almost 50% of all HCC cases globally are attributable to chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The incidence rates of HCC in untreated Asian subjects with HBV infection was estimated to be 0.2% in inactive carriers, 0.6% for those with chronic hepatitis without cirrhosis, and 3.7% for those with compensated cirrhosis. In Western populations, HCC incidences are reported to be 0.02% in inactive carriers, 0.3% in subjects with chronic hepatitis without cirrhosis, and 2.2% in subjects with compensated cirrhosis. Despite effective antiviral treatment options which are able to transform chronic hepatitis into an inactive carrier state, the risk of HCC cannot be fully ruled out to exclude those patients from surveillance. Newer nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) as entecavir and tenofovir are very potent in terms of sustained virological suppression which leads to improved liver histology. However, they do not have any influence on the cccDNA or integrated DNA of HBV in the liver. Nonetheless, viral replication is the only modifiable component among the established risk factors for HBV-related HCC with the current treatment options. In this review, it was aimed to summarize cumulative evidence behind the concept of prevention of HBV related HCC by NAs, and to discuss remaining obstacles to eliminate the risk of HCC.

Nucleot(s)ide analogues for hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma after curative treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim

The benefit of nucleot(s)ide analogues (NA) for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative treatment has been widely debated due to the relatively weak evidence. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effect of NA on recurrence and survival after curative treatment of HBV-HCC.

Methods

A systematic electronic search was performed. All controlled trials comparing NA versus placebo or no treatment were considered for inclusion. Results were expressed as Hazard Ratio for recurrence and survival with 95% confidence intervals using RevMan 5.2.

Results

We included 13 trials with 6350 patients. There were significant improvements for recurrence-free survival (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.54–0.80; p<0.0001) and overall survival (HR 0.56, 95% CI 0.43–0.73; p<0.0001) in the adjuvant NA group compared with the control group. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the results. There were no serious adverse effects being reported. Lamivudine resistance was from 28.6% to 37.5% but could be rescued by other types of NA or combination therapy.

Conclusion

Our study suggested benefits of adjuvant NA therapy following curative treatment of HBV-HCC. Since the great proven efficacy of NA in improving clinical and viral parameters besides HCC, further studies should be focused on broadening the indications for NA therapy after curative treatment of HBV-HCC.