Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Liver cancer

Effect of HCV clearance with direct-acting antiviral agents on HCC

Unexpected data from new studies show that direct-acting antiviral agents might promote tumour occurrence in patients with cirrhosis, or recurrence in patients with presumed cure of hepatocellular carcinoma. In view of the potential clinical implications, this controversy calls for a thorough and expeditious consideration of the hypothetical oncogenic activity of novel HCV drugs.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Incidence of HCC in HCV-associated cirrhosis according to different treatment strategies.

References

  1. Conti, F. et al. Early occurrence and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma in HCV-related cirrhosis treated with direct acting antivirals. J. Hepatol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2016.06.015 (2016).

  2. Cheung, M. C. M. et al. Outcomes after successful direct acting antiviral therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C and decompensated cirrhosis. J. Hepatol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2016.06.019 (2016).

  3. Reig, M. et al. Unexpected early tumor recurrence in patients with hepatitis C virus -related hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing interferon-free therapy: a note of caution. J. Hepatol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2016.04.008 (2016).

  4. Yang, J. D. et al. Direct acting antiviral therapy and tumor recurrence after liver transplant for hepatitis C-associated hepatocellular carcinoma. J. Hepatol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2016.06.02 (2016).

  5. The ANRS collaborative study group on hepatocellular carcinoma. Lack of evidence of an effect of direct acting antivirals on the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma: data from three ANRS cohorts. J. Hepatol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2016.05.045 (2016).

  6. Morgan, R. L. et al. Eradication of hepatitis C virus infection and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Ann. Intern. Med. 158, 329–337 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Lok, A. S. et al. Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma and associated risk factors in hepatitis C-related advanced liver disease. Gastroenterology 136, 138–148 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. European Association For The Study Of The Liver. EASL-EORTC clinical practice guidelines: management of hepatocellular carcinoma. J. Hepatol. 56, 908–943 (2012).

  9. Bruix, J. et al. Adjuvant sorafenib for hepatocellular carcinoma after resection or ablation (STORM): a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Oncol. 16, 1344–1354 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Serti, E. et al. Successful Interferon-Free Therapy of Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection Normalizes Natural Killer Cell Function. Gastroenterology 149, 190–200 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

J.M.L. is supported by grants from the European Commission Horizon 2020 (HEPTROMIC, proposal number 259744; HEPCAR, proposal number 667273–2), the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, the Spanish National Health Institute (SAF-2013-41027-R) and the Asociación Española contra el Cáncer. A.V. is the recipient of the American Association of the Study of the Liver Foundation Alan Hofmann Clinical and Translational Award.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Josep M. Llovet.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Llovet, J., Villanueva, A. Effect of HCV clearance with direct-acting antiviral agents on HCC. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 13, 561–562 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2016.140

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2016.140

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing