# Similar recurrence after curative treatment of HBV-related HCC, regardless of HBV replication activity

## TL;DR

This study finds that the risk of liver cancer recurrence after treatment is similar regardless of hepatitis B virus activity if antiviral therapy is properly started.

## Contribution

The study shows that HBV replication activity does not significantly affect HCC recurrence risk when antiviral therapy is appropriately initiated.

## Key findings

- HCC recurrence risk was similar between groups with and without detectable HBV DNA after curative treatment.
- Multivariate analysis showed no significant difference in early or late recurrence risks between the two groups.
- Propensity score matching confirmed similar recurrence risks regardless of HBV replication activity.

## Abstract

Antiviral therapy (AVT) is required in patients with newly diagnosed hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), if HBV DNA is detectable. We compared the risk of recurrence according to HBV replication activity at the curative treatment of HBV-related HCC.

Patients with HBV-related HCC who underwent surgical resection or radiofrequency ablation between 2013 and 2018 were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. Patients were categorized into two groups according to HBV replication activity at the curative treatment of HBV-related HCC (group 1: patients who met the AVT indication for HBV-related HCC due to detectable HBV DNA but did not meet the AVT indication if without HCC; group 2: patients who met the AVT indication, regardless of HCC).

In the entire cohort (n = 911), HCC recurred in 303 (33.3%) patients during a median follow-up of 4.7 years. After multivariate adjustment, group 2 showed a statistically similar risk of HCC recurrence (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.18, P = 0.332) compared to that of group 1. In addition, group 2 showed statistically similar risks of early (< 2 years; aHR = 1.31) and late (≥ 2 years; aHR = 0.83) recurrence than that of group 1 (all P>0.05). Propensity score matching and inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis also yielded similar risks of HCC recurrence between the two groups (all P>0.05, log-rank tests).

The risk of HCC recurrence in patients who received curative treatment for newly diagnosed HBV-related HCC was similar regardless of HBV replication activity, if AVT was properly initiated.