AASLD 2013: Hepatitis B Treatment with Entecavir or Tenofovir Lowers, But Does Not Eliminate, HCC Risk

Long-term treatment with entecavir can reduce the likelihood that people with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection will develop hepatocellular carcinoma, according to findings presented this week at the 64thAASLD Liver Meeting in Washington, DC. Another study, however, found that while entecavir or tenofovir can reduce the risk, people with hepatitis B should continue to undergo regular monitoring for liver cancer, and better predictive models may be needed for Caucasian patients.

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IDWeek 2013: Tenofovir May Help Prevent Mother-to-child Hepatitis B Transmission

Taking tenofovir (Viread) during the final months of pregnancy may provide extra protection against perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV), along with immunization of the infant, according to a late-breaker presentation the Second IDWeek conference last week in San Francisco.

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AASLD Liver Meeting Starts this Weekend in Washington, DC

The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) annual Liver Meeting gets underway this Friday, running November 1-5 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The highlight of this year's meeting will be numerous presentations on next-generation direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C, now in late stages of development, both as interferon add-ons and in interferon-free regimens.

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ILCA 2013: High HBV Viral Load Raises Risk of Progression to Liver Cancer

Hepatitis B patients with high HBV DNA levels, indicating active viral replication, are more likely to experience progression of abnormal liver nodules to hepatocellular carcinoma, researchers reported at the 7th International Liver Cancer Association Annual Conference (ILCA 2013) last month in Washington, DC.

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Coverage of the 2013 AASLD Liver Meeting

HIVandHepatitis.com coverage of the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD 2013) in Washington, DC, November 1-5, 2013.

Conference highlights include treatment for hepatitis B and C, new direct-acting HCV drugs, interferon-free hepatitis C therapy, management of liver disease complications, HIV/HBV and HIV/HCV coinfection, and prevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcioma.

Full listing by topic

10/30/13

ICAAC 2013: Liver Cancer Often Diagnosed Late with Poor Survival in People with HIV

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage in HIV positive people with hepatitis B or C coinfection, contributing to a high mortality rate that has changed little in recent years, according to a report at the recent 53rd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC 2013) in Denver.

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IDWeek 2013: Entecavir and Tenofovir Both Work Well Against Hepatitis B in Clinical Practice

Entecavir (Baraclude) and tenofovir (Viread) both demonstrated potent activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in a Turkish study presented at the second IDWeek conference held recently in San Francisco. Entecavir appeared to have an edge with regard to hepatitis B "e" antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion, but this rose with time among people taking either drug.

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FDA Warns of Hepatitis B Reactivation Risk with Immune-suppressing Cancer Drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced this week that it has approved labeling changes for 2 monoclonal antibody cancer drugs, ofatumumab (Arzerra) and rituximab (Rituxan), adding a stronger "black box" warning that they may cause hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation.

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