A Swedish nationwide registry-based study has examined the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver-related mortality associated with low-dose aspirin use in patients infected with hepatitis B or hepatitis C viruses. A total of 50,275 patients who received a diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C between 2005 and 2015 were identified, 14,205 of whom were established as low-dose aspirin users according to prescription data. On the basis of a median 7.9 years follow-up, the estimated cumulative incidence of HCC was shown to be significantly lower among aspirin users than nonusers (4.0% versus 8.3%; P < 0.001), an association that was also found to be dependent on the duration of aspirin use. The 10-year liver-related mortality was also significantly lower among aspirin users than nonusers (11.0% versus 17.9%; P <0.001), but importantly, there was no significant difference in the 10-year risk of gastrointestinal bleeding between the groups.
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Simon, T. G. et al. Association of aspirin with hepatocellular carcinoma and liver-related mortality. N. Engl. J. Med. 382, 1018–1028 (2020)
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Dickson, I. Aspirin associated with lower risk of liver cancer. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 17, 260 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-0299-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-0299-3
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