Lamivudine treatment in patients with HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma--using an untreated, matched control cohort.
Lamivudine is widely used to treat patients with hepatitis B. However, the outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with lamivudine have not been established. This study was conducted to evaluate the outcomes of lamivudine treatment for patients with HCC using an untreated, matched control group. Thirty patients with controlled HCC orally received lamivudine. As controls, 40 patients with HCC who were not treated with lamivudine and matched for clinical features were selected. The lamivudine-treated and untreated groups were compared with respect to changes in liver function, HCC recurrence, survival, and cause of death. In the lamivudine-treated group, there was significant improvement in the Child-Pugh score at 24 months after starting treatment, while no improvement was observed in the untreated group. There was no significant difference in the cumulative incidence of HCC recurrence and survival between the groups. However, there was a significant difference in the cumulative incidence of death due to liver failure (P= 0.043). A significant improvement in liver function was achieved by lamivudine treatment, even in patients with HCC. These results suggest that lamivudine treatment for patients with HCC may prevent death due to liver failure. Further prospective randomized studies using a larger number of patients are required.
Piao
Cheng-Yu
CY
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan.
Fujioka
Shin-ichi
S
Iwasaki
Yoshiaki
Y
Fujio
Kozo
K
Kaneyoshi
Toshihiko
T
Araki
Yasuyuki
Y
Hashimoto
Kuniaki
K
Senoh
Tomonori
T
Terada
Ryo
R
Nishida
Tomohiro
T
Kobashi
Haruhiko
H
Sakaguchi
Kohsaku
K
Shiratori
Yasushi
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D019259:Lamivudine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D019259:Lamivudine