0000000000595138
AUTHOR
G Tisone
Intention-to-treat survival benefit of liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular cancer
The debate about the best approach to select patients with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) waiting for liver transplantation (LT) is still ongoing. This study aims to identify the best variables allowing to discriminate between "high-" and "low-benefit" patients. To do so, the concept of intention-to-treat (ITT) survival benefit of LT has been created. Data of 2,103 adult HCC patients consecutively enlisted during the period 1987-2015 were analyzed. Three rigorous statistical steps were used in order to create the ITT survival benefit of LT: the development of an ITT LT and a non-LT survival model, and the individual prediction of the ITT survival benefit of LT defined as the difference between…
HCV NS3 sequencing as a reliable and clinically useful tool for the assessment of genotype and resistance mutations for clinical samples with different HCV-RNA levels
OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the reliability and clinical utility of NS3 sequencing in hepatitis C virus (HCV) 1-infected patients who were candidates to start a PI-containing regimen. METHODS: NS3 protease sequencing was performed by in-house-developed HCV-1 subtype-specific protocols. Phylogenetic analysis was used to test sequencing reliability and concordance with previous genotype/subtype assignment by commercial genotyping assays. RESULTS: Five hundred and sixty-seven HCV plasma samples with quantifiable HCV-RNA from 326 HCV-infected patients were collected between 2011 and 2014. Overall, the success rate of NS3 sequencing was 88.9%. The success rate between the two subtype…