Study reaffirms the safety of hepatitis C drugs in patients with liver cancer

TUESDAY, Feb. 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) – According to a new study, the use of antivirals to treat hepatitis C among survivors of liver cancer is safe.

The results contradict earlier research suggesting that antiviral drugs may increase the risk of recurrence of liver cancer in these patients.

This study involved a single-center study conducted in 2016 by Spanish researchers that "leaked a lot of ink and raised fears of treating patients with liver cancer for their hepatitis C", a said Dr. Amit Singal. He is Medical Director of the Liver Tumor Research Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

"Based on this new data, providers can rest badured that it is safe to treat hepatitis C in these patients and allow them to benefit from the known benefits of hepatitis treatment. This, "said Singal in a press release from the center.

For this new study, researchers examined the medical records of patients successfully treated for liver cancer at 31 medical centers in North America. Investigators compared recurrences of liver cancer in patients treated with or without direct-acting antivirals, such as Harvoni or Sovaldi, for the treatment of hepatitis C.

Recurrence rates for cancer were 42% among those who received antiviral drugs and 59% among those who did not receive it – which does not represent a significant difference, according to the authors of the report. ;study.

The researchers also said that among patients with recurrence, there was no difference in cancer aggressiveness between the two groups.

The study was published recently in the journal Gastroenterology.

In the United States, about 3.2 million people have chronic hepatitis C. Since 2013, effective antiviral drugs are available to treat it.

Chronic hepatitis C infection is a leading cause of liver cancer, and half of liver cancer patients have chronic hepatitis C infection, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

"Our results suggest that the use of direct-acting antiviral treatments is safe and potentially beneficial in patients infected with hepatitis C and with a history of liver cancer," concluded Singal.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more on hepatitis C.