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Introduction: The purpose of this clinical trial was to determine in routine practice and in comparison with liver biopsy the limitations of two blood tests, Actitest and Fibrotest, for the evaluation of hepatic activity and fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C., Methods: Routine blood tests, Actitest and Fibrotest, and liver biopsy were performed in 96 patients with chronic hepatitis C attending routine outpatient clinics. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were used to assess the diagnostic value of the biochemical tests in comparison with the METAVIR classification., Results: The study population was predominantly male (63.5%) with a mean age of 48 years; 83.3% of the patients had genotype 1 hepatitis C virus infection. Treatment status was naive (62.5%), nonresponders (17.7%), relapsers (7.3%), or unknown (12.5%). The comparison of F0-F2 versus F3-F4 estimated the negative predictive value at 92% and the positive predictive value at 52% for a cut-off of 0.455. Discrepancies in activity score were more frequently due to a higher score of the biochemical test compared to biopsy (18 cases out of 19). Discrepancies for fibrosis were observed in 18 patients with a higher score for biochemical test in eight and a higher score for liver biopsy in 10 cases. A significant increase of gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT) (p=0.0001) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (p<0.0001) was observed in case of biochemical test overestimation of activity, and a significant increase of alpha2-macroglobulin (p=0.006) and GGT (p=0.018) in case of biochemical test overestimation of fibrosis., Conclusion: This prospective study confirms the good diagnostic value of biochemical tests for necrotico-inflammatory activity and fibrosis as compared with the histological analysis of liver biopsy. Clinicians must interpret Actitest and Fibrotest results with caution in patients with a significant elevation of ALT, and/or GGT and/or alpha2-macroglobulin which could overestimate hepatic injury.

Objectives: To evaluate in naive patients with chronic hepatitis C 1- the efficacy and safety of one month interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) induction regimen; 2- the potential virological benefit of a secondary adjunction of ribavirin among HCV RNA negative patients after 20 weeks of IFN therapy, with or without an initial 4-week IFN induction., Material and Methods: 151 naive HCV-RNA positive patients presenting with biopsy- proven chronic hepatitis C and elevated ALT were randomised in a 2: 1 ratio in two arms: IFN-alpha 3 MU thrice a week (tiw) for 24 weeks (non-induced patients); IFN-alpha 6 MU daily for two weeks, then 3 MU daily for two weeks then 3 MU tiw for 20 weeks (induced patients). At week 24, HCV-RNA negative patients were randomised to receive in addition or not ribavirin 1-1.2 g daily for 24 additional weeks. Induction efficacy was assessed on the early viral response (EVR) defined as undetectable HCV RNA at week 4 then week 20. Ribavirin efficacy was assessed on the proportion of maintained complete response until the end of follow-up, 24 weeks after discontinuation of treatment. Data were analysed on an intent-to-treat basis., Results: Efficacy of IFN-alpha induction: 104 patients were randomised to the non-induction group, 47 to the induction group. Gender, age, genotype distribution and HCV viral load at baseline did not differ significantly between the two groups. There was one treatment discontinuation because of adverse events in induced patients versus four in non-induced patients (P > 0.05). The 4 week EVR was significantly greater in induced patients in patients with HCV genotype 1, 4 or 5 (47% vs 12%, P=0.0002) only. There was no impact of induction in patients with HCV genotype 2 or 3. Efficacy of ribavirin: at week 24, 28 and 26 HCV-RNA negative patients were randomised to addition of ribavirin or not, respectively. Patients randomised to secondary additive ribavirin were more often HCV-RNA negative at the end of follow-up than patients treated with IFN-alpha alone: 18/28 (64%) vs 10/26 (39%); P=0.06. Among patients randomised to bitherapy, the relapse rate was significantly lower in patients with genotype 2 or 3 (0/12 vs 6/13, P=0.01) and not in those with genotype 1, 4 or 5 (5/11 vs 3/6, P=0.99)., Conclusion: A 4 week IFN-alpha induction significantly increases the EVR rate in patients with HCV genotype 1, 4 or 5. Late secondary adjunction of ribavirin to IFN-alpha for 6 months in HCV-RNA negative patients after 6 months of IFN-alpha significantly decreases the relapse rate in patients with HCV genotype 2 or 3, but not in patients with genotypes 1, 4 or 5.

Postoperative mortality from colorectal cancers in the resident population of the department of Côte-d'Or was studied for the 1976-1985 period through the data collected by the Registry of Digestive Tumors of the Côte-d'Or (France). The overall postoperative mortality was 14.7 percent for colonic cancers and 11.2 percent for rectal cancers. After surgery with curative intent (n = 1,411), the corresponding figures were 10.3 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively. In patients operated with curative intent, postoperative mortality was slightly less in females than in males (NS), and in patients less than 65 than in older patients (P less than 0.001). It was higher when cancer was discovered through an acute event (20.0 percent) than in the other patients (7.7 percent; P less than 0.001). Stage at diagnosis, gross macroscopical appearance, and tumour size had no influence on postoperative mortality for colonic cancers. For rectal cancers, postoperative mortality was lower in tumors less than 3 cm in diameter (1.3 percent) than in larger tumors (7.5 percent; P less than 0.05). Postoperative mortality decreased by a mean of 9.7 percent per year between 1976 and 1985 (P less than 0.001). This trend was more pronounced after curative surgery: 10.9 percent (P less than 0.001) than after palliative surgery: 5.5 percent (P less than 0.05). After curative surgery, postoperative mortality decreased more in men (annual variation: 13.9 percent; P less than 0.001) than in women (6.3 percent; NS), before age 75 (20.2 percent; P less than 0.001) than in older patients (5.6 percent; NS), and for colonic cancers (13.1 percent; P less than 0.001) than for rectal cancers (9.1 percent; NS).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Colorectal cancer is the leading cause of cancer morbidity in France when both sexes are considered together. There are few available data on time trends, although such data would prove both necessary for planning screening programs and usefull to construct hypotheses on etiological factors. Data from the Registre des Tumeurs Digestives de Côte d'Or permitted to establish time trends for the different locations of colorectal cancer during the 1976-1985 period. Changes in incidence rates as based on the world reference population were studied using a log linear model as well as the Armitage test. Overall colon cancer rates have increased in both sexes. The mean annual increase of left colonic cancer was 3.1 p. 100 in men (p less than 0.05) and 4.0 p. 100 in women (NS), whereas rectal cancer decreased by 2.4 p. 100 in men and 3.3 p. 100 in women (NS). In men, left colonic cancer rates increased mainly in rural areas (+ 7.3 p. 100; p less than 0.05) whereas it increased mainly in urban areas in women (+ 6.0 p. 100; NS). In both sexes, the left colonic cancer increase was particularly noticeable in the 45-64 age group, which could indicate that the observed trend is likely to become more important in the next years. As for rectal cancer, the decrease was most important in the 65-74 age groups. That inversed trend for colon and rectum cancer has already been observed in other countries including the USA and Canada. As the trends we observed for right colon, left colon and rectal cancer differ, colorectal cancer etiology should be studied separately.