[Effect of interferon or nucleos(t)ide analogs on hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma]

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the most important risk factor for cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Chinese patients. Interferon (IFN) and nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) are two major regimens for chronic hepatitis B (CHB). A large number of clinical studies have previously confirmed that the risk of HCC in CHB patients can be significantly reduced by NAs treatment. There are also some prospective studies confirming the benefit of IFN treatment. However, only a few clinical studies with limited sample size have directly compared the differences in the incidence of HCC between these two classes of drugs. Although these results suggested that the risk of HCC in IFN group was lower than patients in NA group, the conclusion need to be taken with caution. In the future, a multi-center, large sample size, well-designed, prospective study will be needed to answer this question.