Real-world safety and efficacy of sofosbuvir and ledipasvir for elderly patients.

Background And Aim: In September 2015, sofosbuvir and ledipasvir were approved for clinical use in Japan for patients infected with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus. We conducted a postmarketing prospective cohort study to elucidate the safety and efficacy of this therapy in a real-world setting.

Methods: We treated 509 patients using standard doses of sofosbuvir and ledipasvir for 12 weeks.

Nodular gastritis in association with gastric cancer development before and after eradication.

Background And Aim: Nodular gastritis is caused by infection and is associated with the development of diffuse-type gastric cancer. This study examined the clinical characteristics of patients with nodular gastritis, including cancer incidence before and after H. pylori eradication.

Low-dose pegylated interferon-α2a plus ribavirin therapy for elderly and/or cirrhotic patients with HCV genotype-1b and high viral load.

Background: Pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin therapy is still recommended for elderly and/or cirrhotic patients. This study examined whether sustained virological response (SVR) to low-dose PEG-IFN-α2a plus ribavirin therapy for elderly and/or cirrhotic patients could be predicted based on viral reduction within 2 weeks after therapy initiation or interleukin IL-(28B) polymorphism and viral mutations.

Methods: Participants comprised 115 elderly (≥65 years) and/or cirrhotic patients with genotype-1b and high viral load.

Prediction of efficacy to pegylated interferon-α-2b plus ribavirin in patients with genotype 2 hepatitis C virus using viral response within 2 weeks.

Aim: Rapid virological response (RVR), defined as serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA negativity at 4 weeks, is the most useful predictor of sustained virological response (SVR) to standard pegylated interferon (PEG IFN) plus ribavirin therapy for patients infected with genotype 2 HCV. The aim of the present study was to predict SVR using viral response within 2 weeks of therapy initiation.

Methods: Of 64 HCV genotype 2 patients with a high viral load treated with standard PEG IFN-α-2b plus weight-based ribavirin for 24 weeks, 58 patients whose adherence was more than 67% were analyzed.

Transhepatic catheter-directed thrombolysis for portal vein thrombosis after partial splenic embolization in combination with balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration of splenorenal shunt.

A 66-year-old woman underwent partial splenic embolization (PSE) for hypersplenism with idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH). One week later, contrast-enhanced CT revealed extensive portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and dilated portosystemic shunts. The PVT was not dissolved by the intravenous administration of urokinase.

[Low-output radiofrequency ablation combined with transcatheter arterial oily-chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma].

We devised low-output radiofrequency ablation (RFA)combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization using iodized oil mixed with anticancer drugs (TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), to reduce the cooling effect of tumoral arterial blood flow, to prevent intraportal disseminations and intrahepatic metastases by sudden ebullition (bumping), and to obtain an adequate margin of safety. We performed low-output RFA on 10 HCC patients. We performed RFA with a lower output of 90W or less within two weeks after TACE.