How Does the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Change Over Time in Patients with a Hepatitis C Cure?
People with cirrhosis due to hepatitis C remain at risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after achieving a sustained viral response (SVR). A critical open question is whether this risk declines over time, as SVR duration increases. For example, if a patient has avoided HCC in the first 5 years after SVR, is it now more likely they will avoid it in the next 5 years?
An editorial, published in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, seeks to answer this important question, which has implications for surveillance guidelines, patient counselling and the development of HCC risk models.