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High risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in anti-HBe positive liver cirrhosis patients developing lamivudine resistance
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Journal of Viral Hepatitis, Volume 11, Issue 5, Sept 2004
P. Andreone1, A. Gramenzi1, C. Cursaro1, M. Biselli1, C. Cammà2, F. Trevisani1 and M. Bernardi1
1Semeiotica Medica, Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Cardioangiologia ed Epatologia, Università di Bologna, Bologna; and 2Istituto Metodologie Diagnostiche Avanzate, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Palermo, Italy
ABSTRACT
The emergence of drug-resistant virus in hepatitis B virus patients treated with lamivudine is well documented. However, its clinical impact in the long-term treatment of anti-HBe positive compensated cirrhotic patients is not well known.
In this study, we treated 22 consecutive patients with anti-HBe compensated cirrhosis with lamivudine for a median period of 42 months. All patients responded to lamivudine, but viral breakthrough occurred in 13 patients (59%) between 9 and 42 months of therapy due to the emergence of a mutant strain.
During the follow-up, 11 developed hepatocellular carcinoma. Of these, 10 occurred soon after the emergence of viral resistance, generally showing aggressive behaviour, and one in the nine long-term responder patients (P = 0.013).
Lamivudine resistance was the only independent predictor of hepatocellular carcinoma development (risk ratio: 10.4; 95% CI: 1.3-84.9).
Our study suggests that the occurrence of lamivudine resistance increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in anti-HBe positive cirrhosis and warrants further research.
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