Trajectories and Decline of Serum Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Predict Outcomes in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B.

Background: The kinetics of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels during long-term nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy remains unclear. We delineated the kinetics of HBsAg and analyzed its association with long-term treatment outcomes.

Methods: We enrolled 912 treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who had received NA therapy for >12 months and analyzed the kinetic patterns through group-based trajectory models (GBTMs).

Effect of metabolic dysfunction on the risk of liver-related events in patients cured of hepatitis C virus.

The impact of metabolic dysfunction or metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) on liver-related events (LREs) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) who had achieved a sustained virologic response (SVR) to direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) is unknown. A total of 924 patients with cured CHC and documented body mass index (BMI) were included in the analysis, and the data period was from September 2012 to April 2022. Hepatic steatosis was identified either through ultrasonography or blood biomarkers.

Liver stiffness and spleen stiffness predict distinct liver-related events after hepatitis C eradication with direct-acting antivirals.

Background: Purpose: This study aimed to directly compare the utility of liver stiffness (LS) and spleen stiffness (SS) at sustained virologic response (SVR) for predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and non-HCC events in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) after direct-acting antiviral therapy.

Methods: This retrospective study included 695 CHC patients who achieved SVR and underwent LS and SS measurements. LS and SS were measured using point shear wave elastography and compared head-to-head.

Combined CRAFITY score and α-fetoprotein response predicts treatment outcomes in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma receiving anti-programmed death-1 blockade-based immunotherapy.

Biomarkers for predicting the treatment efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapy in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC) are crucial. Previous studies demonstrated that C-reactive protein and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in immunotherapy (CRAFITY) score at baseline predicted treatment outcomes and that patients with uHCC with AFP response, defined as > 15% decline in AFP level within the initial 3 months of ICI-based therapy, had favorable outcomes when receiving ICI-based therapy. However, whether the combination of CRAFITY score and AFP response could be used to predict treatment efficacy of programmed death-1 (PD-1) blockade-based therapy in uHCC patients remains unclear.

Prediction model of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with hepatitis B virus-related compensated cirrhosis receiving antiviral therapy.

The feasibility and performance of predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using a combined albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4)-based model remain unclear in patients with compensated cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) receiving long-term nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) therapy. We enrolled 1158 NA-naïve patients with compensated cirrhosis and CHB treated with entecavir or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. The patients' baseline characteristics, hepatic reserve, and fibrosis indices were analyzed.

Combined Liver Stiffness and Α-fetoprotein Further beyond the Sustained Virologic Response Visit as Predictors of Long-Term Liver-Related Events in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C.

Aims: Long-term risk stratification using combined liver stiffness (LS) and clinically relevant blood tests acquired at the baseline further beyond the sustained virologic response (SVR) visit for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) has not been thoroughly investigated. This study retrospectively investigated the prognostics of liver-related events (LREs) further beyond the SVR visit.

Methods: Cox regression and random forest models identified the key factors, including longitudinal LS and noninvasive test results, that could predict LREs, including hepatocellular carcinoma, during prespecified follow-ups from 2010 to 2021.

Posttreatment nonalcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis scores for predicting liver-related complications in patients with chronic hepatitis C receiving direct-acting antiviral agents.

Patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) have a higher prevalence of hepatic steatosis and dyslipidaemia than healthy individuals. We analysed noninvasive fibrosis assessments, especially nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-related noninvasive fibrosis tests, for predicting liver-related complications and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence in patients with CHC. This retrospective study enrolled 590 consecutive patients with CHC having a sustained virologic response (SVR) to direct-acting antiviral agent (DAA) therapy.

Alpha-fetoprotein response predicts treatment outcomes in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors with or without tyrosine kinase inhibitors or locoregional therapies.

Combined immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) along with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and locoregional therapies have been used increasingly to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Biomarkers are required to predict the treatment efficacy of ICIs with or without combination therapies in patients with unresectable HCC. This study enrolled 95 consecutive patients with unresectable HCC from May 2017 to June 2021 from two hospitals retrospectively.

Do peripartum and postmenopausal women with primary liver cancer have a worse prognosis? A nationwide cohort in Taiwan.

Background: While primary liver cancer (PLC) is one of the most common cancers around the world, few large-scale population-based studies have been reported that evaluated the clinical survival outcomes among peripartum and postmenopausal women with PLC.

Aim: To investigate whether peripartum and postmenopausal women with PLC have lower overall survival rates compared with women who were not peripartum and postmenopausal.

Methods: The Taiwan National Health Insurance claims data from 2000 to 2012 was used for this propensity-score-matched study.

Liver and Spleen Stiffness Surveillance Through Elastography During and After Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C.

Objectives: Direct-acting antiviral agents achieve a high cure rate, resulting in early hepatic necroinflammatory resolution and sustained fibrosis regression. This study aimed to obtain longitudinal, concurrent within-subject measurements of liver stiffness (LS) and spleen stiffness (SS) and their correlates over time.

Methods: Participants with hepatitis C (n = 592) receiving direct-acting antiviral-based therapy were monitored through point shear-wave elastography from the treatment baseline (TW0) across follow-up visits in terms of LS and SS.

On-Treatment Albumin-Bilirubin Grade: Predictor of Response and Outcome of Sorafenib-Regorafenib Sequential Therapy in Patients with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

In the RESORCE study, regorafenib after sorafenib therapy improved survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In total, 88 patients with unresectable HCC who received sorafenib-regorafenib sequential therapy were enrolled. The objective response rate and disease control rate were 19.

Predictors of response and survival in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma treated with nivolumab: real-world experience.

Real-world predictors of the treatment efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are unknown. This retrospective study enrolled 87 consecutive patients with unresectable HCC from May 2017 to December 2019 at two hospitals. Of the 87 patients, 7, 9, 60, and 11 patients had Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stages A, B, C, and D, respectively, and 45, 30, and 10 patients were Child-Pugh class A, B, and C, respectively.

Elbasvir/grazoprevir for hepatitis C virus genotype 1b East-Asian patients receiving hemodialysis.

Data regarding the efficacy and tolerability of elbasvir/grazoprevir (EBR/GZR) for East-Asian hepatitis C virus genotype 1b (HCV GT1b) patients receiving hemodialysis were limited. We prospectively recruited 40 HCV GT1b hemodialysis patients who received EBR/GZR for 12 weeks at 6 academic centers in Taiwan. The efficacy endpoints were sustained virologic response 12 weeks off-therapy (SVR) by intention-to-treat (ITT) modified ITT (mITT) analyses.

On-Treatment Changes in FIB-4 and 1-Year FIB-4 Values Help Identify Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Receiving Entecavir Therapy Who Have the Lowest Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Noninvasive fibrosis indices can help stratify the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) receiving nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy. We investigated the predictive performance of on-treatment changes in FIB-4 (△FIB-4) and 1-year FIB-4 values (FIB-4 12M) for HCC risk in patients with CHB receiving entecavir therapy. We included 1325 NA-naïve patients with CHB treated with entecavir, retrospectively, from January 2007 to August 2012.

Interferon-alpha-induced depression: Comparisons between early- and late-onset subgroups and with patients with major depressive disorder.

Interferon (IFN)-alpha, until recently the standard treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, is associated with a significant risk of major depressive episode (MDE, or IFN-alpha-induced depression). However, it is little studied the comparisons of clinical manifestations between IFN-alpha-induced depression and major depressive disorder (MDD). In addition, IFN-alpha induces different neuroinflammation and neuroendocrine status throughput the HCV treatment course; however, the clinical presentations have never been compared between early-onset and later-onset IFN-alpha-induced depression.

Rapid decline of noninvasive fibrosis index values in patients with hepatitis C receiving treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents.

Background: Studies on temporal changes in noninvasive fibrosis indices and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treated with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) are limited.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled consecutive patients with CHC who had received DAAs.

Results: In total, we recruited 395 consecutive patients, of which 388 (98.

Performance of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Elastography for Staging Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C After Viral Eradication.

Background: Data on noninvasive liver fibrosis staging after viral eradication are unclear. This histology-based study validated the performance of liver stiffness (LS) measurements after viral eradication.

Methods: Consecutive participants with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) who received concomitant LS measurements through acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography and percutaneous liver biopsy were prospectively screened and analyzed.

Stratification of hepatocellular carcinoma risk through modified FIB-4 index in chronic hepatitis B patients on entecavir therapy.

Background And Aim: Noninvasive fibrosis indices can predict the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Modified FIB-4 (mFIB-4) is a promising noninvasive index for predicting liver fibrosis. To investigate the predictive accuracy of several extant noninvasive fibrosis indices, including mFIB-4, for HCC incidence in CHB patients receiving long-term entecavir therapy.

A combination of the on-treatment FIB-4 and alpha-foetoprotein predicts clinical outcomes in cirrhotic patients receiving entecavir.

Background & Aims: This study investigates the long-term incidences and predictors of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cirrhotic events and mortality in cirrhotic patients receiving entecavir (ETV) therapy.

Methods: We enrolled 481 nucleos(t)ide analogue-naïve chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients who had compensated cirrhosis upon entry and had received ETV monotherapy for >12 months.

Results: The 8-year cumulative incidences of developing HCC, cirrhotic events and liver-related mortality were 26.

Publisher Correction: New noninvasive index for predicting liver fibrosis in Asian patients with chronic viral hepatitis.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Changes in liver stiffness measurement using acoustic radiation force impulse elastography after antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Background: To compare on-treatment and off-treatment parameters acquired using acoustic radiation force impulse elastography, the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC).

Methods: Patients received therapies based on pegylated interferon or direct-acting antiviral agents. The changes in paired patient parameters, including liver stiffness (LS) values, the FIB-4 index, and APRI, from baseline to sustained virologic response (SVR) visit (24 weeks after the end of treatment) were compared.

Prediction model of hepatocellular carcinoma risk in Asian patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with entecavir.

Background: Until now, no risk score could predict hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in nucleos(t)ide analog (NA)-treated Asian patients.

Methods: We enrolled 1325 NA-naïve chronic hepatitis B patients with entecavir monotherapy for >12 months, with 883 and 442 patients randomly assigned to the development and validation groups, respectively, in the risk model.

Results: The cumulative probabilities of HCC were 2.

Trajectories of serum hepatitis B surface antigen kinetics in patients with chronic hepatitis B receiving long-term nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy.

Background & Aims: The kinetics of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels during long-term nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients remains unclear. We investigated the patterns of serum HBsAg kinetics and their association with therapeutic outcomes in genotype B- or C-infected CHB patients receiving long-term NA therapy.

Methods: We enrolled 329 treatment-naive CHB patients receiving NA therapy for >5 years to analyse the kinetic patterns by using group-based trajectory models (GBTMs).