title: The safety of chemotherapy for breast cancer patients with hepatitis C virus infection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the major causes of chronic liver disease, and more than 880,000 people are estimated to be infected with HCV in Japan. Little information is available on the outcomes of HCV during chemotherapy for solid tumors, and the impact of HCV infection on toxicity of chemotherapy is unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective survey of 1,110 patients diagnosed with breast cancer between January 2006 and March 2011 at our institution. All patients had been screened for hepatitis C serology at diagnosis of breast cancer. We retrospectively investigated the change in HCV load and the toxicities of chemotherapy, based on review of their medical records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  23 patients were identified as having a positive test for anti-HCV antibodies. Ten of these patients received chemotherapy. Their median age was 66 years. No patient had decompensated liver disease at baseline. Eight patients received cytotoxic agents with or without trastuzumab, and two patients received trastuzumab alone. Four of eight patients who received cytotoxic chemotherapy developed febrile neutropenia and one developed transaminases elevation. Serum HCV-ribonucleic acid (RNA) level before and after chemotherapy was evaluated in six patients. Median serum HCV-RNA level at baseline and after chemotherapy was 6.5 and 6.7 logIU/ml, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chemotherapy for breast cancer patients with HCV infection is feasible, and viral load doesn't change during the chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: 1. Department of Medical Oncology, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Theriault
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Naito
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suyama
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shimomura
authors.forename: Tsuguo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwatani
authors.forename: Daishu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Hidetaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawabata
authors.forename: Hiromitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kumada
authors.forename: Toshimi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takano
keywords: Child-Pugh criteria; HCV; HCV-RNA; chemotherapy.; febrile neutropenia; liver cirrhosis
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