A hepatocellular carcinoma developed following 12 years from sustained virologic response to interferon therapy in a patient with hepatitis C

Abstract

We successfully resected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that developed 12 years after the achievement of sustained virologic response (SVR) to interferon (IFN) therapy in a 65-year-old man with an unknown transmission route of hepatitis C virus (HCV). In 1992, he was found to have chronic hepatitis C and treated by IFN-β and after which, SVR was obtained. Twelve years after therapy, he reported sudden abdominal pain. CT led to a diagnosis of ruptured HCC of segment 7, necessitating emergency hepatic arterial embolization, followed by hepatic S7 subsegmentectomy. He recovered without complications. This case showed the longest period from achievement of SVR to development of HCC carcinogenesis among those reported in Japan, and features poorly differentiated HCC, carcinogenesis from the eradicated fibrosis liver by IFN therapy with numerous positive cells stained by Mib-1. In conclusion, close observation is required for patients who obtained SVR of HCV even after 10 years.