0
Sign In  | Subscribe
18 February 2003, Vol 138, No. 4>
Summaries for Patients | 18 February 2003

Interferon Therapy Improves Survival in Patients with Liver Cancer and Hepatitis C Virus Infection FREE

[+] Article and Author Information

The summary below is from the full report titled “Interferon Therapy after Tumor Ablation Improves Prognosis in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Associated with Hepatitis C Virus.” It is in the 18 February 2003 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine (volume 138, pages 299-306). The authors are Y Shiratori, S Shiina, T Teratani, M Imamura, S Obi, S Sato, Y Koike, H Yoshida, and M Omata.


Ann Intern Med. 2003;138(4):I-52. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-138-4-200302180-00003
Text Size: A A A

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Some infections of the liver are caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C produces scar tissue in the liver, a condition known as cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is closely associated with the development of liver cancer. Doctors have observed that the risk for liver cancer decreases when patients with HCV infection are given the antiviral medication interferon. However, liver cancer is very difficult to cure. One of the treatments used to treat liver cancer involves injecting the cancerous nodules with alcohol, which kills the tumor cells. But even after the tumor cells have been killed, the cancer tends to recur. Doctors don't know whether patients with HCV infection who already have liver cancer will benefit from interferon treatment in addition to alcohol injections.

Why did the researchers do this particular study?

They wanted to see if treatment with a combination of interferon and repeated alcohol injections into recurring tumors nodules could increase survival in patients with both HCV and liver cancer.

Who was studied?

49 patients with mild HCV infection and three or fewer liver cancer nodules that had already been treated once with alcohol injections.

How was the study done?

After the researchers confirmed that the tumor nodules had been destroyed by initial alcohol injections, all patients were followed to see if nodules recurred; additional alcohol injections were given when nodules were found. Two thirds of the patients also received treatment with interferon, and one third received alcohol injections without interferon. The researchers evaluated both groups to determine the timing of cancer recurrence and to see if survival rates differed between the groups. They also evaluated evidence for continued HCV infection with and without interferon treatment.

What did the researchers find?

The time to first recurrence of liver cancer did not differ in the two groups. However, second and third recurrences were less frequent in the patients receiving interferon. At 5 years after initial treatment, 68% of the interferon-treated patients were alive compared with 48% of the untreated patients. At 7 years, 53% of the interferon-treated group was alive compared with 23% of the untreated patients. Continuing HCV infection was greatly reduced in patients who received interferon; the virus persisted in all patients who did not receive interferon.

What are the limitations of the study?

Because the study is small and both patients and physicians knew the treatment regimen, results could have been unintentionally biased in favor of interferon treatment. Also, because participants had relatively mild HCV infections and mild liver abnormalities, the results cannot be used to predict outcomes in patients with more severe disease.

What are the implications of the study?

It may be possible to decrease the risk for liver cancer in patients with HCV infection by vigorously treating the infection.

Figures

Tables

References

Letters

NOTE:
Citing articles are presented as examples only. In non-demo SCM6 implementation, integration with CrossRef’s “Cited By” API will populate this tab (http://www.crossref.org/citedby.html).
Compression-Only CPR: Pushing the Science Forward
Cone
AAM 2010;304:1493-1495.
All you need to read in the other general jounals
BMJ 2010;341:c5893-c1494.

Comments

Submit a Comment
Submit a Comment

Summary for Patients

Clinical Slide Sets

Terms of Use

The In the Clinic® slide sets are owned and copyrighted by the American College of Physicians (ACP). All text, graphics, trademarks, and other intellectual property incorporated into the slide sets remain the sole and exclusive property of the ACP. The slide sets may be used only by the person who downloads or purchases them and only for the purpose of presenting them during not-for-profit educational activities. Users may incorporate the entire slide set or selected individual slides into their own teaching presentations but may not alter the content of the slides in any way or remove the ACP copyright notice. Users may make print copies for use as hand-outs for the audience the user is personally addressing but may not otherwise reproduce or distribute the slides by any means or media, including but not limited to sending them as e-mail attachments, posting them on Internet or Intranet sites, publishing them in meeting proceedings, or making them available for sale or distribution in any unauthorized form, without the express written permission of the ACP. Unauthorized use of the In the Clinic slide sets will constitute copyright infringement.

Toolkit

Buy This Article

to gain full access to the content and tools.

Want to Subscribe?

Learn more about subscription options

Register Now for a free account
Advertisement

Related Content

Customize your page view by dragging & repositioning the boxes below.

In the Clinic
Hepatitis C
Ann Intern Med. 2012;157(11):ITC6-1.
Hepatitis C
Ann Intern Med. 2008;148(11):ITC6-1.
Topic Collections
PubMed Articles
Correlation between hepatitis B virus genotypes and clinical outcomes.
Japanese journal of infectious diseases Issue date: 2012
Predicted effects of treatment for HCV infection vary among European countries.
Gastroenterology Issue date: 2012 Oct

Annals of Internal Medicine

Other Resources

Copyright © 2013 The American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.
Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Buy This Article

to gain full access to the content and tools.

Want to Subscribe?

Learn more about subscription options

Register Now for a free account
Forgot your password?
Enter your username and email address. We'll send you a reminder to the email address on record.
(Required)
(Required)