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Background & Aims: Little is known about how a sustained virologic response (SVR) to treatment of hepatitis C virus infection with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) affects patient mortality and development of new liver-related events. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of disease progression in patients treated with DAAs., Methods: We performed a prospective multicenter cohort study of 1760 patients who received DAA treatment at 23 hospitals in Latin America, from May 1, 2016, through November 21, 2019. We excluded patients with a history of liver decompensation, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or solid-organ transplantation. Disease progression after initiation of DAA therapy included any of the following new events: liver decompensation, HCC, liver transplantation, or death. Evaluation of variables associated with the primary outcome was conducted using a time-dependent Cox proportional hazards models., Results: During a median follow-up period of 26.2 months (interquartile range, 15.3-37.5 mo), the overall cumulative incidence of disease progression was 4.1% (95% CI, 3.2%-5.1%), and after SVR assessment was 3.6% (95% CI, 2.7%-4.7%). Baseline variables associated with disease progression were advanced liver fibrosis (hazard ratio [HR], 3.4; 95% CI, 1.2-9.6), clinically significant portal hypertension (HR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2-3.8), and level of albumin less than 3.5 mg/dL (HR, 4.1; 95% CI, 2.3-7.6), adjusted for SVR achievement as a time covariable. Attaining an SVR reduced the risk of liver decompensation (HR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-0.8; P = .016) and de novo HCC (HR, 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1%-0.8%; P = .02) in the overall cohort., Conclusions: Treatment of hepatitis C virus infection with DAAs significantly reduces the risk of new liver-related complications and should be offered to all patients, regardless of disease stage. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03775798., (Copyright © 2020 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The A.A.E.E.H has developed this guideline for the best care of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from Argentina. It was done from May 2018 to March 2020. Specific clinical research questions were systematically searched. The quality of evidence and level of recommendations were organized according to GRADE. HCC surveillance is strongly recommended with abdominal ultrasound (US) every six months in the population at risk for HCC (cirrhosis, hepatitis B or hepatitis C); it is suggested to add alpha-feto protein (AFP) levels in case of inexeperienced sonographers. Imaging diagnosis in patients at risk for HCC has high specificity and tumor biopsy is not mandatory. The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer algorithm is strongly recommended for HCC staging and treatment-decision processes. Liver resection is strongly recommended for patients without portal hypertension and preserved liver function. Composite models are suggested for liver transplant selection criteria. Therapies for HCC with robust clinical evidence include transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and first to second line systemic treatment options (sorafenib, lenvatinib, regorafenib, cabozantinib and ramucirumab). Immunotherapy with nivolumab and pembrolizumab has failed to show statistical benefit but the novel combination of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab has recently shown survival benefit over sorafenib in frontline., (Copyright © 2020 Fundación Clínica Médica Sur, A.C. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The COVID-19 pandemic declared in March 2020, has generated worldwide concern due to its effect on the health of the population and the potential health collapse. The strategy of "flattening the curve" through social distancing made it possible to adapt the resources of the health system to patients with COVID-19, but results in other areas of health could not be predicted. The objective of this work was to analyze the consequences of the pandemic on liver transplantation in general and for hepatocarcinoma (HCC). The following studies were carried out: a) a retrospective analysis using data from the CRESI / INCUCAI to compare admission to the waiting list, mortality on the list, donation and liver transplantation from 03/20 to 08/15, 2019 and the same period in 2020, and b) a survey of the transplant centers with the highest transplant activity to assess the effect of the measures taken in different institutional and regional situations. The first analysis showed a 55% decrease in liver transplants, with a similar reduction in donation and admission to the liver waiting list; while HCC transplantation rose from 10% in 2019 to 22% in 2020. The second analysis showed that the occupancy rate of beds by COVID-19 patients / week was variable: from 0.4% to 42.0%. The number of surgeries, hepato-bilio-pancreatic, resection of HCC and liver transplantation, were reduced by 47%, 49%, 31% and 36% respectively. The reduction in transplant activity mainly affected centers with high occupancy due to COVID-19. The final long-term outcome will need to be assessed.

Background & Aims: Data from Europe and North America have been published regarding the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after treatment with direct antiviral agents (DAA). We proposed to evaluate cumulative incidence and associated risk factors for de novo HCC., Methods: This was a prospective multicentre cohort study from Latin America including 1400 F1-F4-treated patients with DAAs (F3-F4 n = 1017). Cox proportional regression models (hazard ratios, HR and 95% CI) were used to evaluate independent associated variables with HCC. Further adjustment with competing risk regression and propensity score matching was carried out., Results: During a median follow-up of 16 months (IQR 8.9-23.4 months) since DAAs initiation, overall cumulative incidence of HCC was 0.02 (CI 0.01; 0.03) at 12 months and 0.04 (CI 0.03; 0.06) at 24 months. Cumulative incidence of HCC in cirrhotic patients (n = 784) was 0.03 (CI 0.02-0.05) at 12 months and 0.06 (CI 0.04-0.08) at 24 months of follow-up. Failure to achieve SVR was independently associated with de novo HCC with a HR of 4.9 (CI 1.44; 17.32), after adjusting for diabetes mellitus, previous interferon non-responder, Child-Pugh and clinically significant portal hypertension. SVR presented an overall relative risk reduction for de novo HCC of 73% (CI 15%-91%), 17 patients were needed to be treated to prevent one case of de novo HCC in this cohort., Conclusions: Achieving SVR with DAA regimens was associated with a significant risk reduction in HCC. However, this risk remained high in patients with advanced fibrosis, thus demanding continuous surveillance strategies in this population., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence following liver transplantation is associated to bad prognosis. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 95 patients who underwent liver transplantation for HCC. Recurrence rate and variables associated with recurrence were reviewed. According to the findings on the explanted livers they were divided in two groups: Milan (M) 67% and non-Milan (NM) 33%. Global recurrence rate, and M-group and NM-group recurrence rates were 19%; 12% and 32%, respectively (P = 0.001). Although in the univariate analysis we found some factors associated to recurrence (hemocromathosis, year of transplant, bilobar distribution, vascular invasion and previous chemoembolization), they were not independent predictors of recurrence in the multivariate analysis. Actuarial survival in cirrhotic patients with and without HCC at 1, 3 and 5 years was 86% and 91% (NS), 77% and 88% (NS), and 67% and 86% (P = 0.002), respectively; whereas actuarial survival of the M and NM groups was 86% and 71%; 82% and 61%, and 78% and 58%, respectively (P = 0.02). We had a satisfactory five-year global survival in our series even though one third of our patients grafted for HCC were outside Milan criteria.