Toronto HCC risk index: A validated scoring system to predict 10-year risk of HCC in patients with cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Current guidelines recommend biannual surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in all patients with cirrhosis, regardless of etiology. However, HCC incidence is not well established for many causes of cirrhosis. We aimed to assess the disease-specific incidence of HCC in a large cohort of patients with cirrhosis and to develop a scoring system to predict HCC risk.

Management of HCV in cirrhosis-a rapidly evolving landscape.

Despite the rapid progress in treatment, chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a growing cause of liver-related mortality globally. Patients who have been infected for decades are now presenting with advanced liver disease with the complications of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Early attempts at treatment with peginterferon and ribavirin were limited by toxicity, long treatment duration, and limited efficacy.

Acute hepatitis C: management in the rapidly evolving world of HCV.

The acute phase of hepatitis C (HCV) infection is typically defined as the initial 6 months following exposure to the virus; however, in some individuals, the acute phase of the infection can last much longer (Orland et al. Hepatology 33:321-27, 2001). Although some patients have symptoms of acute hepatitis, most infected individuals are entirely asymptomatic.