Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) is a highly effective therapy for gastric varices with liver cirrhosis. We have investigated the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after BRTO. We enrolled 71 patients with viral hepatitis in which HCC had not appeared with liver imaging findings at the time of BRTO. The overall survival rate after BRTO was 86.8&#x25;, 76.1&#x25;, and 50.5&#x25; at 1, 3, and 5 years. The occurrence rate of HCC after BRTO was 20.9&#x25;, 41.1&#x25;, and 60.7&#x25; at 1, 3, and 5 years, especially showing a higher occurrence of HCC at one year. Meanwhile, the occurrence rate of HCC after treatment which excluded BRTO for esophagogastric varices in patients was 6.3&#x25;, 19.2&#x25;, and 42.5&#x25; at 1, 3, and 5 years. The log-rank test revealed that the occurrence rate of HCC after treatment was significantly higher in the BRTO group compared with that in the non-BRTO group (<svg xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" style="vertical-align:-0.2129908pt" id="M1" height="9.21094pt" version="1.1" viewBox="-0.0498162 -8.99795 59.7809 9.21094" width="59.7809pt"><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,0,0)"><path id="g113-81" d="M600 480C600 590 528 650 384 650H143L137 622C222 614 225 607 210 531L130 127C113 41 106 36 23 28L17 0H294L300 28C204 36 195 42 212 127L243 284L314 263C327 263 339 263 352 264C465 271 600 337 600 480ZM508 481C508 351 402 304 329 304C289 304 265 311 250 317L295 559C302 594 310 606 323 611C335 616 350 619 367 619C455 619 508 573 508 481Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,12.15,0)"><path id="g117-34" d="M535 323V373H52V323H535ZM535 138V188H52V138H535Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,23.887,0)"><path id="g113-49" d="M241 635C89 635 35 457 35 312C35 153 89 -12 240 -12C390 -12 443 166 443 312C443 466 390 635 241 635ZM238 602C329 602 354 454 354 312C354 172 330 22 240 22C152 22 124 173 124 313S148 602 238 602Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,30.39,0)"><path id="g113-47" d="M113 -12C146 -12 170 11 170 46C170 78 146 103 114 103S58 78 58 46C58 11 82 -12 113 -12Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,33.48,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-49"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,39.983,0)"><path id="g113-53" d="M456 178V225H360V632H320C217 496 115 347 20 206V178H280V106C280 40 276 34 189 27V0H445V27C364 34 360 39 360 106V178H456ZM280 225H82C149 335 214 431 278 520H280V225Z"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,46.486,0)"><use xlink:href="#g113-53"/></g><g transform="matrix(.0135,0,0,-0.0135,52.989,0)"><path id="g113-56" d="M447 623H65C61 580 56 530 47 475H76C100 541 106 550 172 550H388C308 376 196 170 91 -1L98 -12L172 -2C268 204 360 408 455 611L447 623Z"/></g></svg>). The recurrence rate of HCC after BRTO was 35.8&#x25; and 80.0&#x25; at 1 and 3 years. The present study demonstrated a high incidence of HCC after BRTO in liver cirrhosis patients with viral hepatitis infection. We have suggested the potential for BRTO to accelerate hepatocarcinogenesis.

Keiji Yokoyama

Makoto Irie

Akira Anan

Masanori Yokoyama

Naoaki Tsuchiya

Atsushi Fukunaga

Kazuhide Takata

Takashi Tanaka

Genryu Hirano

Daisuke Morihara

Yasuaki Takeyama

Satoshi Shakado

Tetsuro Sohda

Shotaro Sakisaka

The Incidence of Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration

Chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB) infection is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide. Many patients with CHB have variable degrees of functional renal impairment, and approximately 2 to 15&#x25; of patients on hemodialysis have CHB. Several therapeutic regimens have been developed in the past years, among which oral nucleoside and nucleotide analogues have been demonstrated to be efficient and well tolerated. However, they all are excreted in the urine and may thus require dosage adjustment in patients with decreased renal function. Furthermore, a number of them may in addition be toxic to the kidneys, especially in those patients presenting with renal insufficiency.

Gilbert Deray

Maria Buti

Ed Gane

Ji-Dong Jia

Henry Lik Yuen Chan

Antonio Craxi

Teerha Piratvisuth

Stanislas Pol

Hepatitis B Virus Infection and the Kidney: Renal Abnormalities in HBV Patients, Antiviral Drugs Handling, and Specific Follow-Up

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects up to 30&#x25; of adults and is the most common liver disease in Western nations. NAFLD is associated with central adiposity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease. It encompasses the entire spectrum of fatty liver diseases from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with lobular/portal inflammation, hepatocellular necrosis, and fibrosis. Of those who develop NASH, 15&#x2013;25&#x25; will progress to end stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma over 10&#x2013;20 years. Its pathogenesis is complex, and involves a state of lipid accumulation due to increased uptake of free fatty acids into the liver, impaired fatty acid beta oxidation, and increased incidence of de novo lipogenesis. Plasma aminotransferases and liver ultrasound are helpful in the diagnosis of NAFLD/NASH, but a liver biopsy is often required for definitive diagnosis. Many new plasma biomarkers and imaging techniques are now available that should improve the ability to diagnose NAFLD noninvasively Due to its complexity and extrahepatic complications, treatment of NAFLD requires a multidisciplinary approach with excellent preventative care, management, and treatment. This review will evaluate our current understanding of NAFLD, with a focus on existing therapeutic approaches and potential pharmacological developments.

Dina L. Halegoua-De Marzio

Jonathan M. Fenkel

Concepts and Treatment Approaches in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Oxidative stress is a common feature observed in a wide spectrum of chronic liver diseases including viral hepatitis, alcoholic, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. The nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidases (NOXs) are emerging as major sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Several major isoforms are expressed in the liver, including NOX1, NOX2, and NOX4. While the phagocytic NOX2 has been known to play an important role in Kupffer cell and neutrophil phagocytic activity and inflammation, the nonphagocytic NOX homologues are increasingly recognized as key enzymes in oxidative injury and wound healing. In this review, we will summarize the current advances in knowledge on the regulatory pathways of NOX activation, their cellular distribution, and their role in the modulation of redox signaling in liver diseases.

Joy X. Jiang

Natalie J. T&#xf6;r&#xf6;k

NADPH Oxidases in Chronic Liver Diseases

IgG4 related disease (IgG4-RD) is a multisystemic  disorder which has only recently been recognized. IgG4 related sclerosing cholangitis (IgG4-SC) is the biliary manifestation of the disease, often in association with autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP). In this review, we provide an overview of IgG4-RD, with a focus on the biliary manifestations. In particular, we describe the important differential diagnoses of IgG4-SC that need to be considered, namely, primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and cholangiocarcinoma, and provide a management algorithm. Finally, we highlight future directions and unanswered questions which will provide new insights into this exciting and evolving disease entity.

D. Joshi

G. J. M. Webster

IgG4 Related Sclerosing Cholangitis

Ribavirin is often used for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Although its mechanisms of action remain to be clearly elucidated, ribavirin plays a beneficial role for achieving virological response and decreasing the rate of virological relapse after treatment cessation. However, ribavirin may induce side effects leading to early treatment discontinuation. Among them, hemolytic anemia is the most frequent and results from intraerythrocyte accumulation. Pharmacological studies have shown that early ribavirin exposure assessed by the area under the curve (AUC) at day 0 and ribavirin trough concentration during the first three months of therapy were correlated with sustained virological response (SVR). These studies highlighted the relevance of ribavirin pharmacologic monitoring and early dose adaptation during therapy. Although the role of ribavirin within new direct acting antiviral (DAA) combinations will probably decrease in the future, its potential benefit in difficult-to-treat patients such as patients with severe hepatopathy or patients who failed triple therapy including patients with multiresistance will need to be further investigated.

Pierre Pradat

Victor Virlogeux

Marie-Claude Gagnieu

Fabien Zoulim

Fran&#xe7;ois Bailly

Ribavirin at the Era of Novel Direct Antiviral Agents for the Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus Infection: Relevance of Pharmacological Monitoring

Total parenteral nutrition (TPN), a lifesaving therapy, involves providing nutrition by bypassing the gut. Unfortunately it is associated with significant complications including gut atrophy and parenteral nutrition associated liver disease (PNALD). PNALD includes steatosis, cholestasis, disrupted glucose metabolism, disrupted lipid metabolism, cirrhosis, and liver failure. The etiopathogenesis remains poorly defined; however, an altered enterohepatic circulation, disrupting nuclear receptor signaling, is emerging as a promising mechanism. Rodent models and our piglet TPN model have shown that, during regular feeding, bile acids activate farnesoid X receptor (FXR) in the gut and enhance fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) level. FGF19 regulates bile acid, lipid, and glucose metabolism. We noted reduced FGF19 with TPN use and substantial improvement in FGF19, bilirubin, and metabolic profiles with the FXR agonist chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA). Additionally, CDCA caused gut growth and enhanced expression of glucagon like peptides (GLPs). GLPs regulate gut trophic effects, insulin, glucose homeostasis, and hepatic steatosis. GLP secretion is regulated by the CDCA activated receptor TGR5. This leads to an important conclusion that, in addition to a disrupted FXR-FGF19 axis, a disrupted TGR5-GLP axis may contribute to TPN related pathologies. Thus modulators of FXR-FGF19 and the TGR5-GLP axis could help bring forward novel treatment strategies.

Ajay Kumar Jain

Jeffrey H. Teckman

Newly Identified Mechanisms of Total Parenteral Nutrition Related Liver Injury

Peribiliary glands (PBGs) are located in the large intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts. Although they were described many years ago, their functions have been elucidated only in the last couple of years when our group demonstrated that PBGs are niches of multipotent stem/progenitor cells of endodermal origin. These cells express genes of multipotency and can be rapidly differentiated <i>in vitro</i> into hepatocytes, cholangiocytes, and endocrine pancreatic cells. PBGs share common features, in terms of stem/progenitor cell niches, with pancreatic duct glands and colon crypts, glandular structures representing in the adult life the endodermal remnants of fetal life. PBG stem/progenitor cells participate in the renewal of surface biliary epithelium and are active players in chronic pathologies of the biliary tree as well as in cholangiocarcinomas (CCA). Specifically, a large amount of recent evidence indicates that the pure mucin-CCA originates from PBGs; this could explain the similarities with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and colorectal cancer, which also originate from transformed gland cells. In this paper, we summarized our recent findings concerning structure and functions of PBGs with the implications for liver pathophysiology and, specifically, for cancers of the biliary tree.

Vincenzo Cardinale

Maria Consiglia Bragazzi

Guido Carpino

Alessia Torrice

Yunfang Wang

Lola McAdams Reid

Eugenio Gaudio

Domenico Alvaro

Cholangiocarcinomas: New Insights from the Discovery of Stem Cell Niches in Peribiliary Glands of the Biliary Tree

Chronic liver diseases of differing etiologies are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Establishing accurate staging of liver disease is very important for enabling both therapeutic decisions and prognostic evaluations. A liver biopsy is considered the gold standard for assessing the stage of hepatic fibrosis, but it has many limitations. During the last decade, several noninvasive markers for assessing the stage of hepatic fibrosis have been developed. Some have been well validated and are comparable to liver biopsy. This paper will focus on the various noninvasive biochemical markers used to stage liver fibrosis.

Hind I. Fallatah

Noninvasive Biomarkers of Liver Fibrosis: An Overview

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) encompasses a spectrum of metabolic abnormalities ranging from simple hepatic steatosis (accumulation of neutral lipid) to development of steatotic lesions, steatohepatitis, and cirrhosis. NAFLD is extremely prevalent in obese individuals and with the epidemic of obesity; nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has become the most common cause of liver disease in the developed world. NASH is rapidly emerging as a prominent cause of liver failure and transplantation. Moreover, hepatic steatosis is tightly linked to risk of developing insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Abnormalities in hepatic lipid metabolism are part and parcel of the development of NAFLD and human genetic studies and work conducted in experimentally tractable systems have identified a number of enzymes involved in fat synthesis and degradation that are linked to NAFLD susceptibility as well as progression to NASH. The goal of this review is to summarize the current state of our knowledge on these pathways and focus on how they contribute to etiology of NAFLD and related metabolic diseases.

George G. Schweitzer

Brian N. Finck

Targeting Hepatic Glycerolipid Synthesis and Turnover to Treat Fatty Liver Disease

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Advances in Hepatology