Direct-acting antiviral therapy for patients with hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma: A nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The survival benefit of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), particularly in Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stages B/C, remains largely uncertain. We aimed to explore the impact of DAA therapy on overall survival (OS) in HCC patients using a nationwide cohort study.

METHODS

We utilized the nationwide Taiwan Association for the Study of the Liver (TASL) HCV Registry (TACR) database to include all adults receiving a DAA therapy for HCV, excluding those with other viral infections, liver transplantation, non-HCC malignancies, and terminal-staged HCC. We respectively analyzed the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for sustained virological response (SVR) and adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for OS.

RESULTS

Between December 2013 and December 2020, 2,205 (9.3%) patients with HCC and 21,569 (90.7%) patients without HCC were include. The SVR rates were 96.6% in the HCC group and 98.8% in the non-HCC group (P<0.001), with HCC being an independent risk factor affecting SVR (aOR 0.41; 95% CI 0.31-0.54; P<0.001). In the whole patient cohort, SVR was independently associated with improved OS (aHR 0.46; 95% CI 0.35-0.60; P<0.001). Among patients with baseline HCC, SVR remained an independent factor related to OS (aHR 0.41; 95% CI 0.28-0.59; P<0.001). The impact of SVR on OS persisted significantly across BCLC stages 0/A and stages B/C.

CONCLUSION

High SVR rates among HCC patients underscore the importance of DAA therapy in enhancing OS, reaffirming its efficacy across various HCC stages.