Lamivudine Antiviral Therapy For Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Radical Hepatectomy

OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of lamivudine (LAM) antiviral therapy for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after radical hepatectomy.METHODS A total of478HBV-HCC patients treated by radical hepatectomy were retrospectively collected. Patients in the treatment group (n=141) received LAM therapy (100mg/d) postoperatively, while patients in the control group (n=337) did not. Propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to reduce confounding bias between groups. Then recurrence-free survival rates, overall survival rates, treatments for recurrent HCC and causes of death were compared between groups.RESULTS The1-,3-,5-year recurrence-free survival rates didn’t significantly differ between the two groups (P=0.503); however, the1-,3-,5-year overall survival rates in the treatment group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P=0.009). Subgroup analysis showed that LAM treatment conferred a significant survival benefit for BCLC stage A/B patients. Following HCC recurrence, more people in the treatment group were able to choose curative treatments than those in the control group (P=0.031). For causes of death, fewer people in the treatment group died of liver failure than those in the control group (P=0.041).CONCLUSION Postoperative LAM therapy increases chances of receiving curative treatments for recurrent HCC and prevents death because of liver failure, thus significantly prolongating overall survival, especially in early-or intermedian-stage tumors.