Risk of hepatocellular carcinoma for patients treated with direct-acting antivirals: steps after hepatitis C virus eradication to achieve elimination

More than 180 million people have the hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide. Patients with chronic hepatitis C are asymptomatic and unaware of their illness until the onset of severe end-stage liver disease (1). Liver cirrhosis occurs in 20–30% patients with chronic hepatitis C 2–3 decades after infection.