Direct acting antiviral agents and hepatocellular carcinoma development: don’t take it for granted

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection treatment has met a revolution since the introduction in clinical practice of direct acting antiviral agents (DAA). These drugs, even the ones belonging to the so-called first generation, were able to achieve high rates of sustained virologic response (SVR). Moreover, they allowed clinicians to treat also patients with decompensated liver disease for whom former HCV treatment (IFN-based ones) were contraindicated (1,2).