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Friday, November 17, 2017
News Recap:
AASLD 2017
HCV Clinical Guidelines and Patient Management highlights from The Liver Meeting 2017. Thanks to the Canadian Society for International Health we are able to share this excellent presentation, by Dr. Curtis Cooper, on highlights from AASLD 2017.
Liver Cancer
Global Perspectives on Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Be sure to check out this excellent article! A panel of international oncology experts recently met to exchange thoughts on developments in the field of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. They discussed screening and staging issues, treatment of advanced HCC and results of recent clinical trials.
As well, in September, the FDA granted an accelerated approval to Opdivo (nivolumab) for patients with HCC following prior Nexavar, and you can read more about that here: Nivolumab improves outcomes in liver cancer study.
Also in the news: Researchers have now found that chronic liver inflammation also promotes cancer by suppressing immunosurveillance – a natural defense mechanism in which it’s thought the immune system suppresses cancer development: How chronic inflammation tips the balance of immune cells to promote liver cancer
Also in the News:
Liver test to aid paracetamol overdose treatment. People who overdose on paracetamol (acetaminophen) could be helped by a blood test that shows immediately if they are going to suffer liver damage. The test would help doctors identify which patients arriving in hospital need more intensive treatment. The test detects levels of three specific molecules associated with liver damage: miR-122, HMGB1 and FL-K18.
DAAs produce cure rates in HCV/HIV co-infection similar to monoinfection. Direct-acting antiviral therapies demonstrated similarly high rates of sustained virologic response for hepatitis C virus infection in patients with and without HIV infection as compared with rates for HCV mono-infected patients, according to findings published in Hepatology.
U.S.: Dynavax Announces FDA Approval of HEPLISAV-B™ for Prevention of Hepatitis B in Adults. The first and only two-dose vaccine for prevention of hepatitis B in adults has just been approved in the USA. It is manufactured by Dynavax and is called HEPLISAV-B. It is only a matter of time until it is approved in Canada. This is a big step forward.