0000000000117910
AUTHOR
Zeuzem Stefan
Sorafenib in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
none 25 BACKGROUND: No effective systemic therapy exists for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. A preliminary study suggested that sorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, the platelet-derived growth factor receptor, and Raf may be effective in hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: In this multicenter, phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we randomly assigned 602 patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who had not received previous systemic treatment to receive either sorafenib (at a dose of 400 mg twice daily) or placebo. Primary outcomes were overall survival and the time to symptomatic progression. Seconda…
The HEP-NET B/C co-infection trial: A prospective multicenter study to investigate the efficacy of pegylated interferon-α2b and ribavirin in patients with HBV/HCV co-infection
Background/Aims The efficacy of pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin in HBV/HCV co-infected patients is unknown. Methods Nineteen patients with chronic HBV/HCV co-infection (HBsAg and HCV-RNA positive; 10 HCV-genotype 1; 9 HCV-genotype 2 or 3) were included in this prospective multicenter pilot study. Baseline HBV-DNA was negative in 13 individuals. All patients received weight-adjusted PEG-IFN-α2b and ribavirin for 48 weeks. Results In the intent-to-treat analysis, a biochemical and an HCV-RNA response were observed in 12 and 14 patients, respectively (63% and 74%). At the end of the treatment as well as at the end of the follow-up the HCV-RNA response was 93% (14/15) in patients adher…