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In updated results presented at the 2017 International Liver Congress, Spanish researchers raised a red flag regarding observations of unexpected higher rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence following treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
Maria Reig MD, PhD, presented data updating results published last year evaluating increased rates of tumor recurrence in patients following successful treatment for HCC and within months of exposure to DAA treatment. At median follow-up of 12.4 months post-initiation of DAA therapy, 77 patients complete response (CR) following HCC treatment. Of those, 24 patients (31.2%) experienced recurrence and 5 patients (6.5%) died.
“These data indicate that there needs to be further research conducted in this area, clarifying the mechanism for the association between liver cancer recurrence and DAA therapy,” Reig said. “Our study offers further support to previous findings that there is an unexpected high recurrence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma associated with DAAs, and that this association may result in a more aggressive pattern of recurrence and faster tumour progression.”
In the updated data, researchers also observed that some patients were developing more aggressive disease in addition to elevated recurrence rates.
– See more at: http://www.targetedonc.com/news/higher-risk-of-hcc-recurrence-observed-following-daa-therapy-for-hepatitis-c#sthash.ekMBLnY0.dpuf