Background and aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development after treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and to compare HCC occurrence in these patients with that among patients treated with interferon (IFN)-based therapies.
Methods: We analyzed a large cohort with chronic hepatitis C virus patients for the onset of new HCC after DAA treatment. A historical IFN-treated cohort was investigated for comparison.
Results: A total of 819 patients were included in the DAA group. The median follow-up period was 263 days (0-1,001). Twenty-five patients (3.6 HCCs/100 person-years; 3.1%) were diagnosed with de novo HCC within the time of observation. No patient without cirrhosis had developed HCC. Patients with newly diagnosed HCC were mostly male, older, and treatment-experienced and had a lower 12-week sustained virologic response (SVR12) rate and higher levels of liver inflammation markers. The median time to HCC was 312 days (0-880). Investigation of the subcohort of 269 cirrhotic patients yielded an HCC rate of 8.9 HCCs/100 person-years. In this cohort, non-SVR12 was an independent risk factor for de novo HCC (HR 4.48; 95% CI 1.51-13.12; p = 0.007). Twenty-four patients (96%) with new HCC were Child-Pugh class A and 17 (68%) were diagnosed in early BCLC stage A. For the IFN-treated patients, we calculated an overall risk of HCC occurrence of 1.3/100 person-years (19 patients out of 351; 5.4%). The median time to diagnosis was 38.8 months (0-113).
Conclusion: The de novo HCC rates did not differ between the DAA-treated patients and those who received IFN. Achievement of SVR is of utmost importance for HCC prevention.
Keywords: Direct-acting antivirals; Hepatitis C; Hepatocellular carcinoma.