Monday, June 1, 2015

Hepatitis virus variations responsible for variations in liver cancer

CHICAGO, IL—Significant clinical variations exist among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer. These variations depend on the viral cause of the disease, which can be hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV). These differences suggest that hepatitis status should be considered when developing treatment plans for patients with newly diagnosed HCC. These findings were presented at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

 “Currently, a patient's form of hepatitis is not a factor in treatment planning, but the two types of the virus result in different disease impacts and some variations in outcomes,” said principal investigator, Ahmed Kaseb, MD, associate professor, Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

“Most likely, this is related to the difference in how hepatitis leads to cancer development, in addition to the differences in the natural history of both hepatitis forms. This might be the result of treating technically different diseases the same way. This study provides more evidence that future clinical trials should stratify patients by hepatitis type to help identify better drugs and create personalized treatment modalities.”


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http://www.oncologynurseadvisor.com/web-exclusives/hepatitis-virus-variations-responsible-for-variations-in-liver-cancer/article/417366/

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