Differential HBV RNA and HBcrAg patterns in untreated patients with chronic hepatitis delta.

Background & Aims: Serum HBV RNA and hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) levels have been proposed as useful biomarkers in the management of patients with HBV; however, their role in chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) is currently unknown.

Methods: Consecutive untreated patients with CHD were enrolled in a cross-sectional study in three EU centers. Clinical and virological characteristics were collected.

Sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) polymorphisms may influence HDV RNA load and early response to bulevirtide.

Background & Aims: Genetic polymorphisms in the sodium taurocholate cotransporting peptide (NTCP encoded by SLC10A1) have been described, but their role in untreated and treated patients with chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) remains unknown. Virological response (VR) to the NTCP inhibitor bulevirtide (BLV) was achieved at week 48 by >70% of patients with CHD, but nearly 15% experienced virological non-response (VNR) or partial response (PR). This study aimed to evaluate whether NTCP genetic polymorphisms affect baseline HDV RNA load and response to BLV in patients with CHD.

Quantification of serum HDV RNA by Robogene 2.0 in HDV patients is significantly influenced by the extraction methods.

Background And Aim: Management of chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) requires reliable tests for HDV RNA quantification. The aim of the study was to compare two extraction methods for the quantification of HDV RNA in untreated and bulevirtide (BLV)-treated CHD patients.

Methods: Frozen sera from untreated and BLV-treated CHD patients were tested in a single-centre study for HDV RNA levels (Robogene 2.

Long-term endoscopic surveillance in HBV compensated cirrhotic patients treated with Tenofovir or Entecavir for 11 years.

Background: Long-term administration of TDF/ETV in patients with HBV-related compensated cirrhosis reduces HCC and decompensation events but the effect of this regimen on development/regression of oesophageal varices (EV) is currently unknown.

Aim: To assess the risk of EV development/progression in this population.

Methods: A total of 186 Caucasian HBV-monoinfected compensated cirrhotics were enrolled in a long-term cohort study from TDF/ETV introduction.

Bulevirtide monotherapy for 48 weeks in patients with HDV-related compensated cirrhosis and clinically significant portal hypertension.

Background & Aims: Bulevirtide (BLV) has recently been conditionally approved for the treatment of chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) in Europe, but its effectiveness and safety in patients with compensated cirrhosis and clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) are unknown.

Methods: Consecutive patients with HDV-related compensated cirrhosis and CSPH who started BLV 2 mg/day were enrolled in this single-center study. Clinical/virological characteristics were collected at baseline, weeks 4, 8 and every 8 weeks thereafter.

Directly acting antivirals are safe and effective in HCV positive patients aged 80 years and older: a multicenter real-life study.

: Treatment of chronic Hepatitis C with directly acting antivirals (DAAs) can bring to sustained virologic response (SVR) in approximately 95% of patients. Efficacy and safety of DAAs in aging patients has not been widely analyzed. We aimed to determine safety and efficacy of DAA-based regimens in a cohort of elderly patients in a real-life setting.

Delisting HCV-infected liver transplant candidates who improved after viral eradication: Outcome 2 years after delisting.

Backgrounds & Aims: Treating patients with decompensated cirrhosis with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy while on the waiting list for liver transplantation results in substantial improvement of liver function allowing 1 in 4 patients to be removed from the waiting list or delisted, as reported in a previous study promoted by the European Liver and Intestine Transplant Association (ELITA). The aim of this study was to report on clinical outcomes of delisted patients, including mortality risk, hepatocellular carcinoma development and clinical decompensation requiring relisting.

Methods: One hundred and forty-two HCV-positive patients on the liver transplant waiting list for decompensated cirrhosis, negative for hepatocellular carcinoma, between February 2014 and June 2015 were treated with DAA therapy and were prospectively followed up.

Long-term outcomes of direct acting antivirals in post-transplant advanced hepatitis C virus recurrence and fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis.

Long-term functional outcomes of sofosbuvir-based antiviral treatment were evaluated in a cohort study involving 16 Italian centres within the international compassionate use programme for post-transplant hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurrence. Seventy-three patients with cirrhosis (n=52) or fibrosing cholestatic hepatitis (FCH, n=21) received 24-week sofosbuvir with ribavirin±pegylated interferon or interferon-free sofosbuvir-based regimen with daclatasvir/simeprevir+ribavirin. The patients were observed for a median time of 103 (82-112) weeks.

Bridging all oral DAA therapy from wait time to post-liver transplant to improve HCV eradication?

Background & Aims: Recurrence of hepatitis C is a major cause of graft loss and shortened survival in patients receiving a liver transplant (LT) for end-stage hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The only way to improve graft and patient outcomes is a successful eradication of HCV infection by antiviral therapy either before or after transplant. This was achievable in a small proportion of recipients by IFN-based regimens, but could be obtained in the majority of them by using DAA IFN-free regimens before/after transplant.

Ribavirin suppresses erythroid differentiation and proliferation in chronic hepatitis C patients.

Combination therapy with pegylated interferon (pegIFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) is the standard of care for chronic hepatitis C. One of the major treatment-related side effects is anaemia, attributed to RBV-induced haemolysis. However, haemolysis biomarkers are not present in all patients supporting the existence of other pathogenetic mechanisms.

Ribavirin Impairs Salivary gland function During Combination Treatment With Pegylated Interferon Alfa-2a In HEpatitis C patients.

Background: Xerostomia is a common adverse event of unknown etiology observed during pegylated interferon (PegIFN)/Ribavirin (Rbv) treatment.

Objectives: To assess the frequency and mechanisms of xerostomia during PegIFN/Rbv therapy.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-one naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C consecutively received PegIFN-α2a (180 μg/week) plus Rbv (800-1200 mg/day).

The pattern of pegylated interferon-alpha2b and ribavirin treatment failure in cirrhotic patients depends on hepatitis C virus genotype.

Background: Failure of anti-hepatitis C therapy encompasses both primary non-response and post-treatment relapse. Treatment failure to pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN)-alpha2b and ribavirin (RBV) largely depends upon virus genotype, but the interaction between genotype, cirrhosis and pattern of treatment failure is unclear. We aimed to assess whether cirrhosis modifies the pattern of PEG-IFN-alpha2b and RBV treatment failure.

[Multiple granular cell tumor: case report and review of the literature].

We describe a case of multiple granular cell tumour (GCT) in 41 years old man. It manifested as subcutaneous synchronous multiple lesions. GCT is, usually, a benign lesion that is histologically diagnosed after biopsy or surgical excision.

Renal cell carcinoma: histological findings in peritumoral tissue after organ-preserving surgery.

Objective And Method: This study assessed the involvement of peritumoral renal cell carcinoma tissue and evaluated the efficacy of partial resection versus enucleation by an anatomopathological investigation into the resection margins in 28 cases of partial nephrectomy.

Results: Histological findings showed no peritumoral infiltration in 91.6% of elective partial resections (24 patients) and resection margin involvement in 75% of necessary partial resections (4 patients).

Bleomycin, ifosfamide and cis-platin chemotherapy in recurrent and persistent cervical cancer, a prospective study.

Thirty patients with histologically proven recurrent or persistent squamous cell cervical carcinoma were treated with chemotherapy, consisting of a combination of bleomycin, ifosfamide and cis-platin (BIP). All patients were evaluable for response. An objective response was seen in nine of the 30 patients (30%): complete in two (6.

Giant cell reparative granuloma of the maxillary bone: case report and review of diagnostic criteria.

This paper reports a case of giant cell reparative granuloma of the right maxillary bone of a 13-year-old caucasian girl. It may be very difficult to distinguish this entity from other lesions of mandible, maxilla and skull bones which contain multinucleated giant cells. The differential diagnosis, especially from giant cell tumors of the bone, is discussed.

Fine-needle aspiration cytodiagnosis of the "cold" thyroid nodule.

The results of 1886 fine-needle cytoaspirations of solid, palpable thyroid nodules, "cold" on scintiscanning, performed between 1 January 1978 and 31 December 1986, were analyzed. In total 36 diagnoses of malignancy were made (1.9%).

Cytodiagnosis of gastric cancer by brushing: 1978-1983.

A total of 1652 endoscopic cytologic brushings from 1131 patients, 823 males aged 15 to 87 years and 358 females aged 21 to 88 years, were examined. From these we diagnosed 96 carcinomas, 69 in males and 27 in females. In 1621 samplings from 1151 patients it was possible to compare the cytologic and histologic diagnoses.