Risk of cancer and other events remains after HCV-related cirrhosis is cured

BOSTON — Patients with hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis who achieve a sustained virological response remain at risk for cancer and other non-liver-related events such as diabetes, according to an abstract presented at a liver meeting.

“We know that hepatitis C has extrahepatic manifestations, and this just reminds us that we really need to continue to monitor these people even after cure,” Nancy S. Reau, MD, FAASLD, AGAF,

, chief of the division of hepatology and associate director of organ transplantation at Rush University, told Healio in an interview. “If we hand this over to primary care, we need to make sure there’s enough information in the handover so that these people don’t forget about their liver health.”