Feasibility of conducting a randomized control trial for liver cancer screening: Is a randomized controlled trial for liver cancer screening feasible or still needed?

Hossein Poustchi, Geoffrey C. Farrell, Simone I. Strasser, Alice U. Lee, Geoffrey W. McCaughan, Jacob George – 2 December 2011 – Screening for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is commonly practiced and recommended in published guidelines, but evidence for its efficacy has been controversial. We tested the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of HCC surveillance in patients with cirrhosis and followed up those offered screening to detect clinical outcomes. Participation was offered to patients with cirrhosis attending liver clinics at three university hospitals.

Comparative analysis of portal cell infiltrates in antimitochondrial autoantibody–positive versus antimitochondrial autoantibody–negative primary biliary cirrhosis

Qinglong Jin, Yuki Moritoki, Ana Lleo, Koichi Tsuneyama, Pietro Invernizzi, Hitoshi Moritoki, Kentaro Kikuchi, Zhe‐Xiong Lian, Gideon M. Hirschfield, Aftab A. Ansari, Ross L. Coppel, M. Eric Gershwin, Junqi Niu – 2 December 2011 – Substantial evidence supports dysregulated B‐cell immune responses in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), including the presence of serum antimitochondrial antibodies (AMAs).

Association of thiazolidinediones with liver cancer and colorectal cancer in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Chia‐Hsuin Chang, Jou‐Wei Lin, Li‐Chiu Wu, Mei‐Shu Lai, Lee‐Ming Chuang, K. Arnold Chan – 2 December 2011 – The objective of this nationwide case‐control study was to evaluate the risk of specific malignancy in diabetic patients who received thiazolidinediones (TZDs). A total of 606,583 type 2 diabetic patients, age 30 years and above, without a history of cancer were identified from the Taiwan National Health Insurance claims database during the period between January 1 2000 and December 31 2000.

Diagnosis and treatment of minimal hepatic encephalopathy to prevent motor vehicle accidents: A cost‐effectiveness analysis

Jasmohan S. Bajaj, Steven D. Pinkerton, Arun J. Sanyal, Douglas M. Heuman – 2 December 2011 – Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in cirrhosis is associated with impaired driving skills and increased risk of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). Detection and treatment of MHE has the potential to reduce costs and morbidity associated with MVAs. We conducted a cost‐effectiveness analysis to assess the benefits of different strategies of MHE diagnosis and treatment for reducing MVA‐related societal costs.

Field‐practice study of sorafenib therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: A prospective multicenter study in Italy

Massimo Iavarone, Giuseppe Cabibbo, Fabio Piscaglia, Claudio Zavaglia, Antonio Grieco, Erica Villa, Calogero Cammà, Massimo Colombo, on behalf of the SOFIA (SOraFenib Italian Assessment) study group – 2 December 2011 – A multicenter randomized controlled trial established sorafenib as a standard of care for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Because the study was prematurely interrupted due to survival benefits in the sorafenib arm, we conducted an observational study to adequately assess risks and benefits of this regimen in field practice.

Recombinant adenovirus carrying the hepatocyte nuclear factor‐1alpha gene inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma xenograft growth in mice

Xin Zeng, Yong Lin, Chuan Yin, Xin Zhang, Bei‐Fang Ning, Qing Zhang, Jun‐Ping Zhang, Lei Qiu, Xiao‐Ran Qin, Yue‐Xiang Chen, Wei‐Fen Xie – 2 December 2011 – Hepatocyte nuclear factor‐1alpha (HNF1α) is one of the key transcription factors of the HNF family, which plays a critical role in hepatocyte differentiation. Substantial evidence has suggested that down‐regulation of HNF1α may contribute to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Herein, human cancer cells and tumor‐associated fibroblasts (TAFs) were isolated from human HCC tissues, respectively.

Subscribe to