Gaetano Bertino

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Studies have produced conflicting results of the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis C virus-associated cirrhosis treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). Data from clinics are needed to accurately assess the occurrence rate of HCC in patients with cirrhosis in the real world.

METHODS: We collected data from a large prospective study of 2,249 consecutive patients (mean age = 65.4 years, 56.9% male) with hepatitis C ...

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The effectiveness of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) against hepatitis C virus (HCV), following successful treatment of early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), has been studied extensively. However, the benefit in terms of overall survival (OS) remains to be conclusively demonstrated. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of DAAs on OS, HCC recurrence, and hepatic decompensation.

METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 163 consecutive patients with HCV-related ...

BACKGROUND: We evaluated treatment modalities and survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), by pre-treatment and 3-month post-treatment serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and pre-treatment tumor diameters.

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 57 patients treated for HCC in our department from January 2002 to December 2012, including their sex, type of hepatitis, Child class, pre-treatment tumor size, pre-treatment levels of albumin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), ...

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease develops in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Interferon and ribavirin combination therapy is the standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C, but if present, NAFLD can reduce the virological response to anti-HCV therapies.

OBJECTIVES: We determined whether the addition of rosuvastatin to interferon and ribavirin improves the sustained virological response (SVR) and reduces steatosis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study was a prospective, ...

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the association between cigarette smoking and asthma severity. We assessed smoking as a determinant of disease severity and control in a cohort of clinic-referred allergic subjects who developed new onset asthma.

METHODS: Allergic rhinitis subjects with no asthma (n = 371) were followed-up for 10 years and routinely examined for asthma diagnosis. In those who developed asthma (n = 152), clinical severity and levels of asthma control were determined. ...

BACKGROUND: The health status of employees with chronic hepatitis C has major implications for organizations and labour market.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of Acetyl-L-Carnitine administration on work productivity, daily activity, and fatigue in subjects with chronic hepatitis C treated with Pegylated-Interferon-α2b and Ribavirin.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this prospective, randomized, placebo controlled, double blind clinical trial, 30 subjects (Group A) with chronic hepatitis, ...

BackgroundHepatitis C virus infection and interferon treatment are often associated with anxiety, depressive symptoms and poor health-related quality of life.To evaluate the Silybin-vitamin E-phospholipids complex effect on work ability and whether health related factors (anxiety and depression) were associated with work ability in subjects with chronic hepatitis C treated with Pegylated-Interferon-α2b (Peg–IFN) and Ribavirin (RBV).MethodsThirty-one patients (Group A) with chronic ...

Purpose: Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is one of the severe complications of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PVT deteriorates the liver, and its dysfunction increases the risk of bleeding, influencing the prognosis of patients with liver cirrhosis and HCC. The aim of our study was to investigate whether D-dimer testing could be a sensitive marker for the diagnosis and prognosis of HCC patients with PVT.

Patients and methods: Between June 2010 and December 2015, 118 HCC patients were ...

Purpose: Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is a pre-renal-like dysfunction that generally onsets in cirrhotic patients presenting ascites. We investigated the improvement of renal function in subjects with hepatorenal syndrome after terlipressin administration and the survival times after this treatment. Fifty-two patients affected by cirrhosis, with diagnosis of hepatorenal syndrome were treated with intravenous terlipressin plus albumin (group A) or with albumin alone (group B). Liver and ...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in some areas of the world. In most cases, HCC is diagnosed at a late stage. Therefore, the prognosis of patients with HCC is generally poor. The recommended screening strategy for patients with cirrhosis includes the determination of serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and an abdominal ultrasound every 6 months to detect HCC at an earlier stage. AFP, however, is a marker characterized by poor sensitivity and ...

BACKGROUND: During the past three decades, the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States has tripled. The neuroendocrine character has been observed in some tumor cells within some hepatocellular carcinoma nodules and elevated serum chromogranin A also been reported in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this work was to investigate the role of serum concentration of chromogranin A in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma at different stages.

METHODS: The ...

INTRODUCTION: The Baveno VI consensus guidelines and an expanded algorithm suggest that transient elastography (TE) and platelet (PLT) count can be used to identify patients with cirrhosis who can avoid esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). The primary aims of this study were to assess the ability of a simple algorithm, which uses only laboratory parameters, to predict medium/large esophageal varices (EV) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and cirrhosis from the Rete Sicilia Selezione ...