The risk of early occurrence and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma in hepatitis C-infected patients treated with direct-acting antivirals with and without pegylated interferon: A Belgian experience

Recently, concerns were raised of high rates of HCC recurrence in patients treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAA) for hepatitis C infection. We investigated the HCC occurrence and recurrence rates within 6 months after treatment with DAA with or without pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) in real life. This is a retrospective, multicenter cohort trial, executed in 15 hospitals distributed across Belgium. Populations were matched based on fibrosis score (Metavir F3-F4). Patients with a Child-Pugh score >= B were excluded. In total, 567 patients were included, of whom 77 were treated with PEG... Mehr ...