— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
In a discouraging study, Taiwanese researchers found that hepatitis B
patients who underwent surgery for liver cancer derived no benefit
from antiviral treatment after surgery. In fact, according to the
report published in the July issue of the journal PLoS One, treated patients fared worse than untreated patients.
Researchers followed 3,855 patients with HBV-related liver cancer
between 2004 and 2009. About 12.7% (490) were treated with antivirals
to suppress their HBV infection following liver cancer treatment. Those
treated with antivirals tended to be younger, have earlier stage
cancer and smaller tumors compared with untreated patients.
Despite their youth and early cancer diagnosis,
the treated group experienced a faster recurrence of cancer and earlier
deaths than untreated patients.
"This study found that adjuvant antiviral therapy
did not reduce the risk of liver cancer progression or mortality in
HBV-related liver cancer patients," researchers noted.
Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25025231
Source: HBV Journal Review: August 1, 2014, Vol 11, no 8
Labels: antivirals and HCC, cancer surgery, post-surgery survival
