Among those who have had a complete response to treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, the most common form of liver cancer), treating hepatitis C virus (HCV) with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) does not affect the risk of the cancer’s recurrence during a median follow-up time of 10 months, Healio reports. This is promising news, suggesting that DAAs are safe to use among those who have been treated for liver cancer.

Publishing their findings in the journal Gastroenterology, researchers analyzed data on 793 people who had completely responded to liver cancer treatment and who had HCV. A total of 304 of them received DAA treatment and 489 did not. During a median follow-up period of 10.4 months, there were 416 liver cancer recurrences among the study population, including 128 in those treated with DAAs and 288 in those not treated for HCV.

The study authors processed the data with various statistical methods and found that receiving DAAs was not associated with a difference in the rate of liver cancer recurrence, nor was hep C treatment associated with a difference in the risk of early recurrence of HCC. These findings remained consistent when the investigators further parsed the data by different subgroups, including those based on tumor burden and liver cancer treatment type.

To read the Healio article, click here.

To read the study abstract, click here.