BULGARIAN DOCTORS ARE FIRST IN THE WORLD TO CURE HEPATITIS C IN PATIENTS WITH LIVER CANCER

Bulgarian doctors were the first in the world, who successfully cured Hepatitis C in patients with liver cancer. The team of doctors from Ivan Rilski hospital in Bulgaria’s Capital Sofia has applied the new treatment which fully eliminates the Hepatitis C virus.

Professor Zahari Krastev, the Head of the Gastroenteroly clinic at University hospital Ivan Rilski was happy to show the ultrasound examination result of a lady, over the age of 60 - an image of a liver of a cured patient, showing no recurrence of the disease.

The other patient, 69 year old, has had severe problems as a result of Hepatitis C. Prof. Zahariev explains that the two patients came to the clinic with cirrhosis 15 years ago. The cancer was identified in the early stage, the patients have undergone treatments but then the new medication came which completely removed the virus from the body. Although revolutionary, the treatments have been applied in practice only recently, with proven effect in certain patients.

Professor Krasimir Antonov, a gastroenterologist at Ivan Rilski hospital, says that it is very difficult for a pharmaceutical company to include patients with oncological diseases in the drug-testing, because it is possible the patient to die from the disease during the course of the study. But we couldn’t leave our patients provided we could see we could help them with the adequate treatment, he said.

Prof. Krastev says that there is now some talk that when the patient with cancer is cured from the hepatitis virus, the liver cancer may return. We have taken a measured risk, with experience and knowledge, despite the absence of sufficient information on the effect of the treatment, he says.

Prof. Antonov has explained that the treatment resulted in complete elimination of the Hepatitis C virus and currently the liver condition of the two patients is very good. And there has been no cancer recurrence for a year, the doctor noted. This proves that such treatment is possible to be applied in patients with liver cancer.

Prof. Zahariev says that after the end of the treatment, for a year, the immune capacity of the two patients has increased twice.

Prof. Antonov says that no one knows what the further development of this process will be. And it is of a great interest to the whole world – what would happen to the cirrhosis after the elimination of the hepatitis C virus. Therefore the two patients from Ivan Rilksi hospital will for a long time remain in the focus of doctors from the whole world.

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