title: Inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma by PegIFNα-2a in patients with chronic hepatitis C: a nationwide multicenter cooperative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We investigated whether the administration of maintenance doses of interferon prevented hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study 1: A multicenter, retrospective, cooperative study was carried out to determine whether long-term administration of low-dose peginterferon alpha-2a (PegIFNα-2a) prevented HCC development in patients with chronic hepatitis C. In total, 594 chronic hepatitis C patients without a history of HCC were enrolled and treated with 90 μg PegIFNα-2a administered weekly or bi-weekly for at least 1 year. Study 2: HCC developed in 16 of 99 additional patients without PegIFNα-2a treatment during 3.8 years of observation. A propensity-matched control study was then carried out to compare the incidence of HCC between the 59 patients who received low-dose PegIFNα-2a (PegIFNα-2a group) and 59 patients who did not receive PegIFNα-2a treatment (control group), matched for sex, age, platelet count, and total bilirubin levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Study 1: HCC developed in 49 patients. The risk of HCC was lower in patients with undetectable hepatitis C virus RNA, ≤40 IU/L alanine aminotransferase (ALT), or ≤10 ng/L alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) 24 weeks after the start of therapy. Study 2: The incidence of HCC was significantly lower in the PegIFNα-2a group than in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low-dose and long-term maintenance administration of PegIFNα-2a decreased the incidence of HCC in patients with normalized ALT and AFP levels at 24 weeks compared with patients without normal ALT and AFP levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Musashino Red-Cross Hospital, Musashino, Japan. nizumi@musashino.jrc.or.jp
authors.forename: Namiki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Asahina
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurosaki
authors.forename: Gotaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kajiwara
authors.forename: Yukishige
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yokosuka
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kariyama
authors.forename: Joji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Toyoda
authors.forename: Mie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inao
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hisataka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moriwaki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Katsushima
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takaguchi
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hiasa
authors.forename: Kazuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chayama
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yatsuhashi
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oketani
authors.forename: Hiromitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kumada
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a