title: Liver Cancer Emergence Associated with Antiviral Treatment: An Immune Surveillance Failure?
abstract: The availability of new direct antiviral agents to safely and effectively treat the hepatitis C virus represents a major advancement in the field of liver disease. Most patients achieve complete viral eradication sustained over time. In addition, the administration of these new agents is safe and does not require limitations when liver function is impaired. Some now expect the hepatitis C virus to be completely eradicated in a few years. However, not all data are positive. In April 2016, we published a cohort study suggesting that viral eradication with the new agents could be associated in time with the emergence of recurrent cancer sites in patients previously treated for hepatocellular carcinoma. In this review, we update our report and summarize the data provided in recent publications. We also speculate about the mechanisms for cancer emergence and stress the need for further studies.
authors.affiliation: BCLC group. Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reig
authors.affiliation: BCLC group. Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Loreto
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Boix
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mariño
authors.affiliation: Medical Statistics Core Facility, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Spain; Biostatistics Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ferran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Forns
authors.affiliation: BCLC group. Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bruix
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology*; D015166:Monitoring, Immunologic; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019139:Tumor Escape
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents