title: Neither hepatitis C virus genotype nor virus load affects survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype and virus load, the strongest determinants of the efficacy of interferon therapy, have been presumed to be associated with risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study was conducted to elucidate whether these two factors are capable of predicting the prognosis of patients with HCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 371 patients with HCV infection (258 men and 113 women; median age, 66 years; range, 37-88 years) who developed HCC between January 1993 and December 1999 were enrolled. Overall survival and recurrence-free survival were analysed with the Cox proportional hazard regression according to HCV genotype (type 1 versus type 2) and virus load (above versus below 100 kIU/ml).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 371 patients, 346 received locoregional treatments (ethanol injection, microwave, radiofrequency, or surgery), and 307 achieved complete response as determined by subsequent imaging studies. The remaining 25 patients underwent arterial embolization or chemotherapy. Cox proportional hazard regression showed that neither genotype (P = 0.814) nor virus load (P = 0.958) were significant predictors for survival (P = 0.814 and 0.958, respectively) and recurrence (P = 0.505 and 0.736, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neither genotype nor virus load of HCV affected prognosis of HCC patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akamatsu
authors.forename: Haruhiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Shuichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shiina
authors.forename: Takuma
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teratani
authors.forename: Ryosuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tateishi
authors.forename: Shuntaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Obi
authors.forename: Shinpei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Yukihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujishima
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shiratori
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Omata
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D015996:Survival Rate; D019562:Viral Load