Hepatocellular carcinoma occurring after 11 year-long sustained viral response to interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis C]

The patient was a 61-year-old man with chronic hepatitis C who achieved a sustained virological response to interferon therapy in 1993. As a result, the status of his liver improved pathologically from F2A2 to F1A1. Eleven years later, however, a tumor measuring 15 mm in diameter in segment 6 of the liver was indicated by CT. A well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma was detected by a fine needle biopsy. The lesion was treated by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with radiofrequency ablation. Even if patients with chronic hepatitis C have achieved a sustained virological response to interferon therapy, patients with risk factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, such as being a male of advanced age and with progressive fibrosis of the liver, should receive careful long-term follow-up.