Increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatitis C direct-acting antiviral drugs: the threat that never was

Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) are associated with more than a 95% cure rate in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the non-cirrhotic population and 85–90% cure rate in the cirrhotic population (1). Previously, interferon-based therapy (INF) was the treatment of choice but was limited by intolerability, side effects, and a poor likelihood of treatment success: a 25–44% sustained virological response (SVR) (1,2). Fortunately, DAAs have replaced interferon to become the main stay HCV treatment in the general population and in the liver transplant (LT) setting.