Development of small hepatocellular carcinoma in a patient with chronic hepatitis C after 77 months of a sustained and complete response to interferon therapy.

We report a case of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that developed 77 months following sustained and complete response to interferon (IFN) therapy for chronic hepatitis C. A 67-year-old Japanese woman presented with a small mass in the liver that was diagnosed as HCC, 77 months after having completed IFN therapy and having shown a complete response to the therapy with sustained normalization of serum aminotransferases and eradication of serum hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C virus RNA was also not detected in the resected tumorous and non-tumorous liver tissues by polymerase chain reaction. This suggests that all patients with chronic HCV infection should be followed closely for as long as possible for the potential development of HCC, even after a complete and sustained response to IFN treatment. Copyright 2002 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd