effects of antiviral therapy on the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after curative resection or liver transplantation

context hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) is a fatal disease. chronic hepatitis b virus (hbv) and/or hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection is the major cause of hcc. high viral replication rate and related hepatic/systematic inflammation are the major risk factors in hcc recurrence after hepatectomy or liver transplantation. evidence acquisition some of the carcinogenesis-related hbv mutations are also associated with poor prognosis for hcc patients. antiviral therapy is an option for improving hcc prognosis after surgery. in case of hbv-associated hcc, treatment with interferon and nucleos(t)ide analogues (nas), especially interferon, is effective in improving the prognosis. however, long-term use of nas increases the possibility of developing drug-resistant viral mutations such as the hbv rta181t/sw172 mutation, which increases the risk of hcc recurrence. results in cases of hcv-associated hcc, standard interferon with or without ribavirin therapy is effective in improving the prognosis of hcv-associated hcc; however, some hcv mutations, such as the amino acid substitution m91l, are associated with treatment failure and a poor prognosis. therapeutic efficacy needs to be confirmed using largescale, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials. conclusions surveillance of viral mutations during antiviral treatment and a better understanding of the associations of hcc recurrence with viral load, inflammation-associated signaling, and environmental factors can aid the development of more effective strategies for the prevention of hcc recurrence after surgery.