Diagnosed Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B and Delta Virus in Italy in 2024: An Estimation From a National Real-World Database.

Background And Aims: Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) infection have undergone significant changes in Italy over the past few decades, but reliable and updated prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and Delta (CHD) data are lacking. The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiology of CHB and CHD in Italy in 2024, based on real-world data.

Methods: The number of patients with a healthcare expenditure exemption for CHB (016.

Comparison of diagnostic performances of HDV-RNA quantification assays used in clinical practice: Results from a national quality control multicenter study.

Introduction: A reliable quantification of hepatitis D virus (HDV) RNA is of paramount importance for monitoring patients under antiviral therapy. This quality control study compares the diagnostic performances of quantitative HDV-RNA assays used in clinical practice.

Methods: Two HDV-RNA sample panels were quantified in 30 centers by RoboGene (N = 9 laboratories), EurobioPlex (N = 7), RealStar (N = 4), AltoStar (N = 1), Bosphore (N = 3), Bosphore-on-InGenius (N = 1), Dia.

The Medical Impact of Hepatitis D Virus Infection in Natives and Immigrants: The Italian Paradigm.

Background And Aim: Ongoing migratory flows are reconstituting the hepatitis D virus (HDV) reservoir in Italy. We aimed to characterise the current clinical and virologic features of HDV infection in both native Italians and migrants.

Methods: We enrolled 515 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive patients with detectable anti-HDV antibodies from 32 Italian centres between August 2022 and July 2024; all patients underwent centralised virologic assessment.

Outcome of hepatic resection for HCC in ideal and non-ideal candidates.

Background: The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging system considers, among patients with HCC, "ideal candidates" (ICs) for hepatic resection (HR) those with a single lesion, normal bilirubin, and without clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH). We compared the outcome of HR between ICs and non-ICs.

Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted on Child-Pugh A patients.

Minimally invasive hepatectomy thermoablation for single small (≤3 cm) hepatocellular carcinoma: A weighted real-life national comparison.

Background & Aims: For patients with single small (≤3 cm) hepatocellular carcinoma ablation is the first-line treatment, although a high rate of recurrence has been reported. The aim was to compare videolaparoscopic liver resection (laparoscopic resection group) percutaneous thermoablation (ablation group) in terms of overall survival, recurrence-free survival and early recurrence in a real-life national scenario.

Methods: The study is a retrospective collection with subsequent survival analysis.

Comparison of two transient elastography (TE) systems for measuring liver stiffness in clinical practice.

Inter-instrument variations of liver stiffness measure (LSM) by transient elastography might be problematic in clinical practice. LSMs provided by 2 different systems were compared in outpatients with chronic liver disease (CLD). In 777 consecutive asymptomatic outpatients admitted at the Hepatology Unit of Pisa University Hospital the agreement of LSMs measured by FibroScan (Echosens, France) and FT9000 (Hisky Medical, China) (LSM/LSM) was tested using Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman analyses (BAA).

Recurrence rate, features, and outcome after hepatocellular carcinoma curative resection or ablation according to the IMbrave050 criteria: a real-world study.

Background/aims: Adjuvant systemic therapy has been proposed in patients at high-risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence. This study assessed the outcomes of a real-world cohort treated with either resection or ablation, stratified according to the IMbrave050 trial criteria.

Methods: We selected, from the Italian Liver Cancer database, 1150 patients with HCC treated with upfront resection (n = 483, 64.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Autoimmune Hepatitis.

Background: The incidence of HCC in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is low and, due to the paucity of data in the literature, a thorough characterization of these patients is missing.

Aim: To describe the main characteristics and outcome of patients with AIH and HCC.

Methods: Among patients with HCC included in the Italian Liver Cancer (ITA.

Sustainability of General Population Screening for Steatotic Liver Disease: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

Background: Steatotic liver disease (SLD) is a growing global health concern and may progress to more advanced liver diseases (i.e., fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma).

The Natural History of Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Disease in the Era of Curative Therapy with Direct-Acting Antivirals.

The availability of highly effective direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) that cure individuals infected with HCV has changed completely the natural history of HCV infection and chronic hepatitis C. In sustained responders to DAAs, the most common clinical-pathologic outcome has become liver disease regression, cirrhosis re-compensation, and the de-listing of transplant candidates. However, careful scrutiny of liver disease cofactors and outcome predictors in treated patients is mandatory for an appropriate personalized surveillance of the residual risk for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Systemic inflammatory response markers improve the discrimination for prognostic model in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background/purpose Of The Study: We aimed to evaluate the performance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and their combination (combined NLR-PLR, CNP) in predicting overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in a large cohort of unselected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.

Methods: Training and validation cohort data were retrieved from the Italian Liver Cancer (ITA.LI.

Different formulations of semaglutide and oxidative stress in subjects with type 2 diabetes and MASLD: an open-label, real-life study.

Aim: Semaglutide exerts metabolic effects and cardiovascular protection in type 2 diabetes (T2D), also acting on hepatic steatosis and inflammation. No data are, so far, available on the effect of semaglutide on oxidative stress, neither a comparison of injective (InjS) and oral (OrS) formulations has been performed in subjects with T2D and liver steatosis.

Methods: In a real-life, open label, prospective study we compared standard doses of InjS and OrS in targeting liver inflammation and fibrosis and systemic markers of inflammation and oxidative stress by consecutively prescribing InjS or OrS formulation in a 2:1 ratio to sixty T2D + MASLD subjects (T0), observing them for 6 months (T1).

Absence of Viral Replication Is Associated With Improved Outcome in Anti-HCV-Positive Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background And Aims: Presence of active hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may influence the outcome of patients treated for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), although this issue has never been adequately assessed in a large series of patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of active HCV affects the survival of patients treated for HCC.

Methods: This study assessed the outcome of 3123 anti-HCV-positive patients with HCC, subdivided according to the presence of active HCV infection or previous sustained virological response (SVR).

Primary sclerosing cholangitis: Is qualitative and quantitative 3 T MR imaging useful for the evaluation of disease severity?

Purpose: To analyze the role of qualitative and quantitative 3 T MR imaging assessment as a non-invasive method for the evaluation of disease severity in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).

Methods: A series of 26 patients, with histological diagnosis of PSC undergoing 3 T MRI and hepatological evaluation, was retrospectively enrolled. All MR examinations included diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), T2-weighted (T2w) and T1-weighted (T1w) sequences, before and after administration of Gd-EOB-DTPA with the acquisition of both dynamic and hepato-biliary phase (HBP).

HBcrAg values may predict virological and immunological responses to pegIFN-α in NUC-suppressed HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B.

Objective: Selected populations of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) may benefit from a combined use of pegylated interferon-alpha (pegIFN-α) and nucleos(t)ides (NUCs). The aim of our study was to assess the immunomodulatory effect of pegIFN-α on T and natural killer (NK) cell responses in NUC-suppressed patients to identify cellular and/or serological parameters to predict better T cell-restoring effect and better control of infection in response to pegIFN-α for a tailored application of IFN-α add-on.

Design: 53 HBeAg-negative NUC-treated patients with CHB were randomised at a 1:1 ratio to receive pegIFN-α-2a for 48 weeks, or to continue NUC therapy and then followed up for at least 6 months maintaining NUCs.

A holistic evaluation of patients with chronic Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection enrolled in the Italian PITER-B and delta cohort.

Background And Aims: We aimed to characterize the epidemiologic and comorbidities profiles of patients with chronic Hepatitis D (CHD) followed in clinical practice in Italy and explored their interferon (IFN) eligibility.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of the PITER cohort consisting of consecutive HBsAg-positive patients from 59 centers over the period 2019-2023. Multivariable analysis was performed by logistic regression model.

Reduction of the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma over Time Using Direct-Acting Antivirals: A Propensity Score Analysis of a Real-Life Cohort (PITER HCV).

The treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) with direct-acting antivirals (DAA) leads to high sustained virological response (SVR) rates, but hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk persists in people with advanced liver disease even after SVR. We weighted the HCC risk in people with cirrhosis achieving HCV eradication through DAA treatment and compared it with untreated participants in the multicenter prospective Italian Platform for the Study of Viral Hepatitis Therapies (PITER) cohort. Propensity matching with inverse probability weighting was used to compare DAA-treated and untreated HCV-infected participants with liver cirrhosis.

Response to semaglutide of non-drinker subjects with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) displays a worse prognosis in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D); effective treatments are, so far, scanty. Semaglutide showed efficacy in improving steatohepatitis. We longitudinally observed a MASLD cohort of T2D subjects starting semaglutide, to detect an improvement of non-invasive surrogates of steatosis and fibro-inflammatory liver involvement, evaluating the role of mild alcohol consumption.

Characteristics and outcome of anti-hepatitis D virus positive patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: Chronic hepatitis D virus (HDV) often leads to end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Comprehensive data pertaining to large populations with HDV and HCC are missing, therefore we sought to assess the characteristics, management, and outcome of these patients, comparing them to patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Methods: We analysed the Italian Liver Cancer database focusing on patients with positivity for HBV surface antigen and anti-HDV antibodies (HBV/HDV, n = 107) and patients with HBV infection alone (n = 588).