Impact of Interferon on the Prognosis of Hepatitis C Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients with a Sustained Virological Response –An Additional Comparison Between Preoperative and Postoperative Sustained Virological Response

Abstract

Summary: Background: Several studies have reported that interferon (IFN) therapy improves the prognosis of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), especially for patients who have achieved a sustained virological response (SVR). We retrospectively evaluated the clinicopathological outcomes of patients who acquired an SVR through IFN therapy pre- or post-hepatectomy for treatment naïve HCC.

Method: Among the 305 HCV-related HCC patients entered in this study, 59 patients (SVR group) achieved an SVR after IFN therapy and received hepatectomy either after or before achieving an SVR (n=36 and n=23, respectively), while the remaining 179 patients (control group) did not receive IFN therapy, or did not achieve an SVR through IFN therapy (n=67).

Results: In the SVR group, the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were significantly higher than in the control group. We evaluated the prognosis of patients with an SVR achieved pre- or post-hepatectomy separately. There were no significant differences in OS and DFS.

Conclusion: This result suggests that the prognosis of naïve HCC may be improved by additional INF therapy to achieve SVR status after hepatectomy.