Surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with hepatitis C virus infection may improve patient survival.

[Guest guest]

INFO-Watch <infowatch wrote:

 

 

***************************************************

 

To UNSUBSCRIBE (or re-) go to

http://hepatitis.org.uk/infowatch/

 

------------------

If you have troubles with unsubscribing please go

to the above web-site and click on the e-mail

button

to write to the list administrator

 

***************************************************

Title: Surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma

in patients with hepatitis C virus infection may

improve patient survival.

 

Author: Tanaka H Nouso K Kobashi H Kobayashi Y

Nakamura S Miyake Y Ohnishi H Miyoshi K Iwado S

Iwasaki Y Sakaguchi K Shiratori Y

 

Source: Liver Int, 26(5): 543-51 2006

 

Abstract: Background: The benefit of

surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for patients

with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, in terms

of long-term survival, has not yet been

established. Methods: A total of 384 consecutive

anti-HCV-positive HCC patients admitted to our hospital

between January 1991 and October 2003 were

enrolled. Patients were categorized into two groups, a

surveillance group (182 patients) and a

non-surveillance group (202 patients), according to tumor

detection in a surveillance program based on

periodical examination via ultrasound sonography and

alpha fetoprotein determination at 6-month

intervals, and their survival rates were compared.

Results: Although there were no significant differences

in age and Child-Pugh classes between the two

groups, the surveillance group exhibited a smaller

tumor size (19 vs. 35 mm) and a higher incidence

of single HCC (67% vs. 46%), compared with the

non-surveillance group (each, P<0.001). The

cumulative surviv

al rate in the surveillance group was higher

than that in the non-surveillance group (5 years

survival, 46% vs. 32%, P<0.001). When the survival

after correction of the lead-time bias in the

surveillance group was analyzed according to the

Child-Pugh classification, the surveillance program

was found to have had a favorable outcome in

Child-Pugh class A patients, but not in Child-Pugh

class B/C patients. Conclusions: HCC surveillance

for patients with HCV infection can lead to

discovery of tumors at an early stage, especially in

Child-Pugh class A, resulting in a favorable

outcome.

Language: eng

Unique Identifier: 16761998

 

 

 

" To be nobody-but-myself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to

make me everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being

can fight, and never stop fighting. " -e.e. cummings-

 

 

 

-text portions of this message have been removed]