Prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic viral hepatitis B and C infection

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide,with the majority of cases associated with persistent infection from hepatitis B virus(HBV)or hepatitis C virus(HCV).Natural history studies have identified risk factors associated with HCC development among chronic HBV and HCV infection.High-risk infected individuals can now be identified by the usage of risk predictive scores.Vaccination plays a central role in the prevention of HBV-related HCC.Treatment of chronic HBV infection,especially by nucleoside analogue therapy,could also reduce the risk of HBV-related HCC.Concerning HCV infection,besides the advocation of universal precautions to reduce the rate of infection,pegylated interferon and ribavirin could also reduce the risk of HCV-related HCC among those achieving a sustained virologic response.Recently there has been mounting evidence on the role of chemopreventive agents in reducing HBV-and HCV-related HCC.The continued advances in the understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of HCC would hold promise in preventing this highly lethal cancer.