Review of recent research on hepatitis C therapy for 54th annual meeting of the American association for the study of liver diseases

https://www.journal-of-hepatology.eu/article/S0168-8278(18)32388-2/pdf

Burden of liver diseases in the world

Worldwide, some 240 million people have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV), with the highest rates of infection in Africa and Asia. Our understanding of the natural history of HBV infection and the potential for therapy of the resultant disease is continuously improving. New data have become available since the previous APASL guidelines for management of HBV infection were published in 2012. The objective of this manuscript is to update the recommendations for the optimal management of chronic HBV infection. The 2015 guidelines were developed by a panel of Asian experts chosen by the APASL. The clinical practice guidelines are based on evidence from existing publications or, if evidence was unavailable, on the experts' personal experience and opinion after deliberations. Manuscripts and abstracts of important meetings published through January 2015 have been evaluated. This guideline covers the full spectrum of care of patients infected with hepatitis B, including new terminology, natural history, screening, vaccination, counseling, diagnosis, assessment of the stage of liver disease, the indications, timing, choice and duration of single or combination of antiviral drugs, screening for HCC, management in special situations like childhood, pregnancy, coinfections, renal impairment and pre- and post-liver transplant, and policy guidelines. However, areas of uncertainty still exist, and clinicians, patients, and public health authorities must therefore continue to make choices on the basis of the evolving evidence. The final clinical practice guidelines and recommendations are presented here, along with the relevant background information.

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Asian-Pacific clinical practice guidelines on the management of hepatitis B: a 2015 update.

Only women with symptoms need to have their breast implants removed, says government

Borderline resectable pancreatic cancer: a consensus statement by the International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS).

Pancreatectomy combined with superior mesenteric vein–portal vein resection (VR) for pancreatic cancer remains a matter of debate. The present study is a meta-analysis of the available evidence. Articles published until end of March 2011, comparing the results of pancreatic resections with VR versus without VR, were searched. Pooled odds ratios (OR) and weighted mean differences (WMD; with 95% Confidence Intervals [95% CI]) were calculated using either the fixed effects model or the random effects model. Nineteen nonrandomized studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 2,247 patients. There was no difference in perioperative morbidity (OR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.74–1.21; P = 0.67), mortality (OR: 1.19; 95% CI: 0.73–1.96; P = 0.48), or 5-year overall survival (OR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.32–1.02; P = 0.06) between patients with VR and those without VR. Pancreatectomy combined with VR resection for pancreatic cancer is justified because it can result in good perioperative outcome and long-term survival comparable to that obtained with standard resection. Owing to the selection bias and low level of clinical evidence available so far, the results should be interpreted with caution.

Pancreatectomy Combined with Superior Mesenteric Vein–Portal Vein Resection for Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-analysis

Studies investigating the association between Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) have reported inconsistent findings. We conducted a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies to explore this relationship. A comprehensive search was conducted to identify the eligible studies of hepatitis infections and ICC risk up to September 2011. Summary odds ratios (OR) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated with random-effects models using Review Manager version 5.0. Thirteen case–control studies and 3 cohort studies were included in the final analysis. The combined risk estimate of all studies showed statistically significant increased risk of ICC incidence with HBV and HCV infection (OR = 3.17, 95% CI, 1.88-5.34, and OR = 3.42, 95% CI, 1.96-5.99, respectively). For case–control studies alone, the combined OR of infection with HBV and HCV were 2.86 (95% CI, 1.60-5.11) and 3.63 (95% CI, 1.86-7.05), respectively, and for cohort studies alone, the OR of HBV and HCV infection were 5.39 (95% CI, 2.34-12.44) and 2.60 (95% CI, 1.36-4.97), respectively. This study suggests that both HBV and HCV infection are associated with an increased risk of ICC.

/pdf/hepatitis-viruses-infection-and-risk-of-intrahepatic-qwdi714tqq.pdf

Hepatitis viruses infection and risk of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: evidence from a meta-analysis

Laparoscopic versus open distal pancreatectomy: a meta-analysis.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to play pivotal roles in a variety of cancers. However, lncRNAs involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) initiation and progression remain largely unclear. In this study, we identified an lncRNA gradually increased during hepatocarcinogenesis (lncRNA-GIHCG) using publicly available microarray data. Our results further revealed that GIHCG is upregulated in HCC tissues in comparison with adjacent non-tumor tissues. High GIHCG expression is correlated with large tumor size, microvascular invasion, advanced BCLC stage, and poor survival of HCC patients. Functional experiments showed that GIHCG promotes HCC cells proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro, and promotes xenografts growth and metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that GIHCG physically associates with EZH2 and the promoter of miR-200b/a/429, recruits EZH2 and DNMT1 to the miR-200b/a/429 promoter regions, upregulates histone H3K27 trimethylation and DNA methylation levels on the miR-200b/a/429 promoter, and dramatically silences miR-200b/a/429 expression. Furthermore, the biological functions of GIHCG on HCC are dependent on the silencing of miR-200b/a/429. Collectively, our results demonstrated the roles and functional mechanisms of GIHCG in HCC, and indicated GIHCG may act as a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for HCC.

Long noncoding RNA GIHCG promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression through epigenetically regulating miR-200b/a/429.

Background
ZEB1, a member of the ZFH family of proteins (zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox), plays a central role in epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) during carcinogenesis. In this study, we investigated the expression of ZEB1 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its clinical effects with underlying mechanisms.

Yanming Zhou

Papers

Pancreatectomy Combined with Superior Mesenteric Vein–Portal Vein Resection for Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-analysis

Hepatitis viruses infection and risk of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: evidence from a meta-analysis

Laparoscopic versus open distal pancreatectomy: a meta-analysis.

Long noncoding RNA GIHCG promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression through epigenetically regulating miR-200b/a/429.

Clinicopathological significance of ZEB1 protein in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.