Clinical and Molecular Basis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Hepatitis C Virus Eradication

High prevalence of fatty liver and its association with metabolic syndrome among rural adults with chronic hepatitis C: Implications for primary healthcare

BACKGROUND

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) virus infection is a global health concern that is associated with significant liver-related morbidity and mortality. Owing to the inflammatory pathway, CHC can causefatty liver, liver cirrhosis, and liver cancer and is associated with cardiometabolic diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes. Fatty liver is associated with metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and liver cancer. Hence, the early detection of fatty liver through noninvasive screening in adults with CHC is important in primary healthcare settings. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of fatty liver and its association with metabolic syndrome amongrural adults with CHC.

METHODS

This was a series of cohort studies related to the elimination of the CHC burden around the western coastal Yunlin County, Taiwan, between August 2018 and July 2021. A cross-sectional study was conducted after hepatitis C virus RNA confirmation in a hepatitis C- endemic area. A gastrointestinal physician or radiologist assessed fatty liver by ultrasonography. Fatty liver was classified into four grades: normal, mild, moderate, and severe. Three liver enzyme biomarkers were identified. According to the Taiwan national standard, metabolic syndrome was defined based on the presence of three or more of the five abnormal biomarkers, including increased waist circumference, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood glucose level, elevated triglyceride level, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level.

RESULTS

A total of 256 rural adults with CHC were enrolled. The mean age of the participants was 67.5 (standard deviation = 11.8) years, with a low educational level. High prevalence of fatty liver (79%), central obesity (54.3%), elevated blood pressure (55.5%),elevated fasting blood glucose (FBG) level (44.9%), and metabolic syndrome (37.9%) were observed.The results showed that adults with CHC with moderate to severe fatty liver were significantly associated with an increased risk of increased waist circumference (P < 0.001), increased blood pressure (P < 0.001), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (P < 0.05), and elevated liver enzyme biomarker levels (all P < 0.05) after adjusting for age, sex, and educational level. Furthermore, adults with CHC with moderate to severe fatty liver were significantly associated with a greater risk of metabolic syndrome (odds ratio = 2.85, 95% confidence interval = 1.66 to 4.92).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings demonstrate a high prevalence of fatty liver in rural adults with CHC, which is significantly associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and elevated liver biomarker levels. Clinicians and primary healthcare providers must encourage patients with CHC to receive antiviral therapy combined with weight loss management and lifestyle modification, allowing general improvements in their liver and cardiometabolic health.

Trends in long-term outcomes of patients with HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy: A comparison before and after introduction of direct-acting antivirus therapy

Backgrounds

The success of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy provides a cure for patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV); however, outcomes after hepatectomy for HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before and after DAA introduction remain poorly studied.

Methods

Patients who underwent R0/R1 hepatectomy for HCV-associated HCC were retrospectively analyzed. Two time periods were defined: Pre-DAA (2007-2011, December 2013 was defined as the end of follow-up) and Post-DAA groups (2014-2018, December 2020 was defined as the end of follow-up). Propensity score matching (PSM) analyses were performed to highlight the effect of DAA therapy.

Results

A total of 155 patients with HCV-associated HCC were included in this study (Pre-DAA group, n = 103 and post-DAA group, n = 52). In the Post-DAA group, DAA therapy was performed in 26 patients (50.0%), and all of these patients achieved sustained virologic response (SVR) (preoperative SVR, n = 7; postoperative SVR, n = 19). There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding surgical settings and tumor pathology. There was no significant difference in the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate (61.1% and 64.8%, pre- and post-DAA group, respectively, p = 0.441); meanwhile, the 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate in the post-DAA group was better than the pre-DAA group (21.1% and 40.2%, p = 0.073) with a trend toward significance. After PSM except for the postoperative SVR status, there were no significant differences in OS (p = 0.586) and RFS (p = 0.888).

Conclusions

This study showed that survival outcomes were not changed in hepatectomized cases of HCV-associated HCC before and after the introduction of DAA therapy.

Immune Microenvironment and Immunotherapeutic Management in Virus-Associated Digestive System Tumors

The development of cancer is a multifactorial phenomenon, while it constitutes a major global health problem. Viruses are an important factor that is involved in tumorigenesis and is associated with 12.1% of all cancer cases. Major examples of oncogenic viruses which are closely associated with the digestive system are HBV, HCV, EBV, HPV, JCV, and CMV. EBV, HPV, JCV, and CMV directly cause oncogenesis by expressing oncogenic proteins that are encoded in their genome. In contrast, HBV and HCV are correlated indirectly with carcinogenesis by causing chronic inflammation in the infected organs. In addition, the tumor microenvironment contains various immune cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts, as well as several growth factors, cytokines, and other tumor-secreted molecules that play a key role in tumor growth, progression, and migration, while they are closely interrelated with the virus. The presence of T-regulatory and B-regulatory cells in the tumor microenvironment plays an important role in the anti-tumor immune reaction. The tumor immune microenvironments differ in each type of cancer and depend on viral infection. The alterations in the immune microenvironment caused by viruses are also reflected in the effectiveness of immunotherapy. The present review aims at shedding light on the association between viruses and digestive system malignancies, the characteristics of the tumor immune microenvironment that develop, and the possible treatments that can be administered.

Novel Pegylated Interferon for the Treatment of Chronic Viral Hepatitis

Ropeginterferon alfa-2b is a novel mono-pegylated and extra-long-acting interferon, being developed for the treatment of myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) and chronic viral hepatitis. It has a favorable pharmacokinetic profile and less frequent dosing schedule, i.e., once every two to four weeks, compared to conventional pegylated interferon products, which have multiple isomers and are administered weekly. It was approved for the long-term treatment of polycythemia vera, an MPN, and has been included in the NCCN clinical practice guidelines for this indication. Ropeginterferon alfa-2b has demonstrated efficacy and showed a favorable safety profile for the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis in several clinical studies. In this article, we review its pharmacokinetics and available clinical data and suggest that ropeginterferon alfa-2b administered once every two weeks can serve as a new treatment option for patients with chronic viral hepatitis, including chronic hepatitis B, C, and D.