In recognition of Rare Diseases Day today, Liver Cancer Connect is honored to feature an article by guest blogger, Gail Trecosta. Gail’s son is fighting a rare form of liver cancer.
We’ve all heard or seen heartbreaking stories of children with cancer. Ours began in October 2012. Our world turned upside down when our 13-year-old son was diagnosed with fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FHC).
Continue reading "Fighting FHC: A Family’s Battle Against a Rare Liver Cancer"
HBF is pleased to connect our blog readers to Christine Kukka’s monthly HBV Journal Review that she writes for the HBV Advocate. The journal presents the
latest in hepatitis B research, treatment, and prevention from recent academic and medical journals. This month, the following topics are explored:
HBV Journal Review
February 1, 2014
Vol 11, no 2
by Christine M. Kukka
Tests for Antigens and Drug-Resistant Virus Emerge as Valuable Diagnostic Tools
Measuring the amount of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in your bloodstream or conducting quick tests for drug-resistant hepatitis B virus (HBV) may soon be part of your office visit in the brave new molecular world of hepatitis B treatment.
Doctors increasingly are measuring HBsAg levels to determine if treatment is needed or if current medications are working. HBsAg tests—along with measuring alanine aminotransferase (ALT) for signs of liver damage and HBV DNA for viral load—may become essential tools to assess hepatitis B progression or remission.
HBsAg is the protein that makes up the outer covering of HBV. When a patient has a high viral load (and is positive for the hepatitis B “e” antigen—HBeAg), there are often large quantities of HBsAg circulating in the blood stream. When viral replication slows and HBeAg disappears, there can be lower quantities of HBsAg.
But experts are learning that high HBsAg levels can increase cancer risk, even in HBeAg-negative patients, according to a study published in the journal Annales de Biologie Clinique. (1) As a result, there is heightened attention on HBsAg as a key indicator of a patient’s health. For example:
Another team of French researchers, also exploring the implications of HBsAg in an article published in the February 2014 issue of the journal Liver International, suggest that as HBsAg levels decline, so does the risk of liver cancer.
They also suggest that during antiviral treatment, a rapid decline in HBsAg may indicate which patients will eventually clear HBsAg. A 100-fold decline or more of HBsAg over six months of treatment, “… could be a marker of a sustained response after treatment cessation,” they wrote.(2)
In another diagnostic breakthrough, researchers writing in the December journal of Clinical Molecular Hepatology promoted the value of a HepB Typer-Entecavir kit that can precisely detect HBV that have viral mutations that can “resist” the antiviral drug entecavir (Baraclude). This diagnostic tool allows doctors to select the most effective antiviral for each individual patient based on the molecular makeup of their HBV.(3)
1. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24235324 2. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24373085 3. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24459645
Experts Issue a Report Card on Side Effects from Antivirals
Hong Kong researchers evaluated the side effects of commonly-used antivirals in the December 2013 issue of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Antivirals disrupt the genetic make-up of HBV, making it difficult for the virus to replicate. While generally safe, patients must take antiviral pills daily over several years and side effects include damage to the mitochondria of the body’s cells (called mitochondria toxicity.)
Continue reading this and additional studies for Februrary
HBF is pleased to connect our blog readers to Christine Kukka’s monthly HBV Journal Review that she writes for the HBV Advocate. The journal presents the latest in hepatitis B research, treatment, and prevention from recent academic and medical journals. This month, the following topics are explored: Continue reading "HBV Journal Review – January 2014"
Historic ruling now officially recognizes HBV infection as a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
What a difference two years make. In 2011 the Hepatitis B Foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary and we were ready to rest awhile on our laurels after working so hard. But instead, we rallied for new challenges and now we have a lot to celebrate in 2013! Continue reading "Re-energized in Our Mission … A Message from Joan Block of HBF"
HBF is pleased to connect our blog readers to Christine Kukka’s monthly HBV Journal Review that she writes for the HBV Advocate. The journal presents the latest in hepatitis B research, treatment, and prevention from recent academic and medical journals. This month, the following topics are explored: Continue reading "HBV Journal Review – December 2013"
Great news from the 2013 AASLD Liver Meeting regarding a new, lower-dose formulation of Tenofovir for the treatment of hepatitis B
From HIVandHepatitis.com
Published Thursday, 21 November 2013 00:00Written by Liz Highleyman
A new formulation of tenofovir that can be taken at lower doses demonstrated potent activity against hepatitis B virus (HBV) similar to that of the existing formulation in a 28-day study, but with less effect on kidney function, researchers reported at the 64thAASLD Liver Meeting this month in Washington, DC. Continue reading "Tenofovir Alafenamide Shows Similar Anti-HBV Activity with Less Kidney Toxicity"
— Christine M. Kukka, Project Manager, HBV Advocate
A new study suggests for the first time that the combination of the hepatitis B vaccine and HBIG (hepatitis B immune globulin) may be ineffective in preventing “occult” hepatitis B in babies born to mothers infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). An occult infection occurs when a person tests negative for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)—considered an essential antigen building block for HBV—while testing positive for HBV DNA. When this occult infection occurs, researchers suspect the HBsAg has somehow mutated so conventional lab tests can’t identify it. Continue reading "Study Suggests Vaccine and HBIG Ineffective at Preventing “Occult” Hepatitis B in Babies Born to Infected Mothers"
Published on Monday, 11 November 2013
Written by Liz Highleyman
HIVandHepatitis.com
A dual regimen of entecavir (Baraclude) plus tenofovir (Viread) for 48 weeks led to virological response and was generally well-tolerated as second-line therapy for chronic hepatitis B patients who had failed previous nucleoside/nucleotide treatment, according to a poster presentation at the 64th AASLD Liver Meeting last week in Washington, DC. Continue reading "Entecavir + Tenofovir Works Well for Hepatitis B Patients with Prior Treatment Failure"
Harnessing the Power of RNAi Gene Silencing in a Quest of a Cure for Chronic Hepatitis B, and the HBV KnockDown blog written by Dirk Haussecker, who believes it’s about time everyone got serious about a functional cure for hepatitis B.
As I was reading the latest PK-PD study by Gilead on its lead experimental chronic HepB drug candidate GS-9620 (Fosdick et al. 2013), it finally dawned on me that much-touted GS-9620 has been designed to be nothing more than a better tolerated, more convenient version of an already existing treatment option, recombinant interferon. GS-9620 is therefore an example of the typical incrementalist Big Pharma value creation strategy. By contrast, if successful, an HBsAg knockdown approach such as with Arrowhead’s ARC520 would bring to healthcare providers and patients an entirely new, desperately needed treatment option as the field has become stuck with interferons and RT inhibitors for years. Continue reading "Gilead Lead Chronic HepB Candidate GS-9620 Conceived as a More Patient-Friendly Interferon"
HBF is pleased to connect our blog readers to Christine Kukka’s monthly HBV Journal Review that she writes for the HBV Advocate. The journal presents the latest in hepatitis B research, treatment, and prevention from recent academic and medical journals. This month, the following topics are explored:
