title: Role of antiviral therapy in reducing recurrence and improving survival in hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma following curative resection (Review).
abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with the majority of cases associated with persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus infection. In particular, chronic HBV infection is a predominant risk factor for the development of HCC in Asian and African populations. Hepatic resection, liver transplantion and radiofrequency ablation are increasingly used for the curative treatment of HCC, however, the survival rate of HCC patients who have undergone curative resection remains unsatisfactory due to the high recurrence rate. HCC is a complex disease that is typically resistant to the most commonly used types of chemotherapy and radiotherapy; therefore, the development of novel treatment strategies is required to improve the survival rate of this disease. A high viral load of HBV DNA is the most important correctable risk factor for HCC recurrence, for example nucleos(t)ide analogs improve the outcome following curative resection of HBV-associated HCC, and interferon-α exhibits antitumor activity against various types of cancer via direct inhibitory effects on tumor cells, anti-angiogenesis, enhanced immunogenicity of tumors, immunomodulatory effects and liver dysfunction. In the present review, antiviral treatment for HBV-associated HCC is described as a strategy to reduce recurrence and improve survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroduodenal and Pancreatic Surgery, Translation Medicine Research Center of Liver Cancer, Hunan Province Tumor Hospital and Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xiangya Medical School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China ; Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine and Shands Cancer Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0275, USA.
authors.forename: Chaohui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine and Shands Cancer Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0275, USA ; Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Hunan Province Tumor Hospital and Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xiangya Medical School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Man
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine and Shands Cancer Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0275, USA.
authors.forename: Qunfeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroduodenal and Pancreatic Surgery, Translation Medicine Research Center of Liver Cancer, Hunan Province Tumor Hospital and Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xiangya Medical School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Haizhen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroduodenal and Pancreatic Surgery, Translation Medicine Research Center of Liver Cancer, Hunan Province Tumor Hospital and Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xiangya Medical School, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jingshi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine and Shands Cancer Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0275, USA.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: curative resection; hepatitis B virus; hepatocellular carcinoma; interferon-α; recurrence; sorafenib; survival rates; transatheter arterial chemoembolization