Research highlights Residual Liver Cancer Risk in HCV-Cured Cirrhosis

There are abundant risk scores for estimating a patient’s probability of a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis, but their interpretation in isolation poses a formidable challenge. According to a pathbreaking study, patients with cirrhosis cured of hepatitis C face a very high risk of HCC. The study compared the predicted HCC probability for individuals with cirrhosis and cured hepatitis C to the general population (GP). On an average, the predicted probability of HCC among cirrhosis patients was found to be 410 times more than the equivalent probability in GP.?

Brought face to face with the prospect of HCV elimination, clinicians need to counter the key challenge of managing patients cured of HCV but with a residual risk of HCC. The research findings will undoubtedly help clinicians effectively communicate the critical risk information to patients and their families, thereby creating better awareness on the need for regular HCC screening.

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