Key clinical point: H1-antihistamines (AH) may serve as potential adjuvants in preventing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), or dual HBV-HCV infection.
Main finding: AH use vs. nonuse led to a significantly reduced risk of HCC occurrence in patients infected with HBV (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.489; 95% CI 0.455-0.524), HCV (aHR 0.484; 95% CI 0.450-0.522), and dual HBV-HCV (aHR 0.469; 95% CI 0.416-0.529).
Study details: This was a retrospective cohort study involving adult patients with either HBV (n = 521,071) , HCV (n = 169,159) , or dual HBV-HCV (n = 39,016) infection, with each of the 3 cohorts including AH users (HBV, n = 127,398; HCV, n = 40,428; dual HBV-HCV, n = 8,661) and an equal number of non-AH users (<28 cumulative defined daily doses) after 1:1 individual matching.
Disclosures: The study was conducted with financial support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China and Taipei Medical University Hospital. The authors did not report any conflicts of interest.
Source: Shen YC et al. J Clin Oncol. 2022 (Jan 19). Doi: 10.1200/JCO.21.01802.