Interferon beta prevents recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after complete resection or ablation of the primary tumor-A prospective randomized study of hepatitis C virus-related liver cancer.
Because hepatocellular carcinoma often recurs after surgical resection or ethanol injection therapy, we conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial of interferon (IFN) in patients with chronic liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Twenty eligible patients with cirrhosis were randomized into two groups: 10 patients treated with 6 million units of natural IFN-beta twice a week for 36 months and 10 patients without IFN therapy. One patient within the treatment group discontinued interferon therapy after 19 months of treatment because of a mild degree of retinopathy. None of the patients in either group lost HCV-RNA until the end of the observation. Although 7 (70.0%) of 10 patients in the nontreatment group showed tumor recurrence, only 1 (10.0%) of 10 patients with IFN therapy developed tumor recurrence during a median observation period of 25.0 months. Cumulative recurrence rates of the treated and untreated groups were 0% and 62.5% at the end of the first year, and 0% and 100% at the second year, respectively (log-rank test, P =.0004). In conclusion, intermittent administration of IFN suppressed tumor recurrence after treatment with surgery or ethanol injection in patients with HCV-related chronic liver disease.
Department of Gastroenterology, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, and Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Tokyo, Japan. ikedakenji@tora.email.ne.jp
K
K
Ikeda
Y
Y
Arase
S
S
Saitoh
M
M
Kobayashi
Y
Y
Suzuki
F
F
Suzuki
A
A
Tsubota
K
K
Chayama
N
N
Murashima
H
H
Kumada
D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011446:Prospective Studies
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016899:Interferon-beta