Short‐term risk of hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatitis C virus eradication following direct‐acting anti‐viral treatment

Summary Background With the development of direct‐acting anti‐virals (DAAs), almost all patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can achieve sustained viral response (SVR). Aim To evaluate the short‐term risk of HCC among patients with SVR by DAAs, including those with cirrhosis or previous HCC. Methods This large‐scale, multicentre cohort study included 1,675 consecutive patients who achieved SVR by treatment with interferon‐free sofosbuvir‐based regimens, divided into groups with (n = 152) or without previous HCC (n = 1,523). The Kaplan‐Meier method and Cox proportional hazard analysis were used to calculate the cumulative HCC incidence and related factors of HCC. Results During the follow‐up period (median: 17 months), 46 (2.7%) patients developed HCC. The 1‐year cumulative rates of de novo HCC were 0.4% and 4.9% for the noncirrhosis and cirrhosis groups respectively (log‐rank test: P