Decade of optimizing therapy with direct-acting antiviral drugs and the changing profile of patients with chronic hepatitis C

Chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus(HCV)remains a major health problem affecting approximately 58 million people worldwide.In the era of interferon(IFN)-based regimens,patients particularly infected with genotypes 1 and 4 achieved a low response rate.The implementation of direct-acting antivirals changed the landscape of HCV treatment.The increase in effectiveness provided us with the hope of eliminating HCV as a significant public threat by 2030.In the following years,there was an observed improvement in the treatment of HCV with genotype-specific regimens and highly effective pangenotypic options that are the most recent stage of the revolution.The optimization of therapy was accompanied by changes in the patient profile from the beginning of the IFN-free era over time.Patients treated with antiviral therapies were younger in successive periods,less burdened with comorbidities and comedications,more frequently treatment-naïve and had less advanced liver disease.Before the IFN-free era,specific subpopulations such as patients with HCV/HIV coinfection,those with a history of previous treatment,patients with renal impairment or with cirrhosis had lower chances for a virologic response.Currently,these populations should no longer be considered difficult to treat.Despite the high effectiveness of HCV therapy,there is a small percentage of patients with treatment failure.However,they can be effectively retreated with pangenotypic rescue regimens.

Editorial:Metabolomics in chronic hepatitis C:Decoding fibrosis grading and underlying pathways

In the management of the growing population of hepatitis C virus-infected patients,a significant clinical challenge exists in determining the most effective methods for assessing liver impairment.The prognosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis C depend,in part,on the evaluation of histological activity,specifically cell necrosis and inflammation,and the extent of liver fibrosis.These parameters are traditionally obtained through a liver biopsy.However,liver biopsy presents both invasiveness and potential sampling errors,primarily due to inadequate biopsy size.To circumvent these issues,several non-invasive markers have been proposed as alternatives for diagnosing liver damage.Different imaging techniques and blood parameters as single markers or combined with clinical information are included.This Editorial discusses the identification of a set of six distinctive lipid metabolites in every fibrosis grade that appear to show a pronounced propensity to create clusters among patients who share the same fibrosis grade,thereby demonstrating enhanced efficacy in distinguishing between the different grades.

Acute-on-chronic liver failure induced by antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C: A case report

BACKGROUND There have been no reports of acute-on-chronic liver failure(ACLF)during treatment of chronic hepatitis C(CHC)with direct-acting antivirals(DAAs).CASE SUMMARY We report a 50-year-old male patient with CHC.The patient sought medical attention from the Department of Infectious Diseases at our hospital due to severe yellowing of the skin and sclera,which developed 3 mo previously and attended two consecutive hospitals without finding the cause of liver damage.It was not until 1 mo ago that he was diagnosed with CHC at our hospital.After discharge,he was treated with DAAs.During treatment,ACLF occurred,and timely measures such as liver protection,enzyme lowering,anti-infective treatment,and suppression of inflammatory storms were implemented to control the condition.CONCLUSION DAA drugs significantly improve the cure rate of CHC.However,when patients have factors such as autoimmune attack,coinfection,or unclear hepatitis C virus genotype,close monitoring is required during DAA treatment.

Metabolomics in chronic hepatitis C:Decoding fibrosis grading and underlying pathways

BACKGROUND Chronic Hepatitis C(CHC)affects 71 million people globally and leads to liver issues such as fibrosis,cirrhosis,cancer,and death.A better understanding and prognosis of liver involvement are vital to reduce morbidity and mortality.The accurate identification of the fibrosis stage is crucial for making treatment decisions and predicting outcomes.Tests used to grade fibrosis include histological analysis and imaging but have limitations.Blood markers such as molecular biomarkers can offer valuable insights into fibrosis.AIM To identify potential biomarkers that might stratify these lesions and add information about the molecular mechanisms involved in the disease.METHODS Plasma samples were collected from 46 patients with hepatitis C and classified into fibrosis grades F1(n=13),F2(n=12),F3(n=6),and F4(n=15).To ensure that the identified biomarkers were exclusive to liver lesions(CHC fibrosis),healthy volunteer participants(n=50)were also included.An untargeted metabolomic technique was used to analyze the plasma metabolites using mass spectrometry and database verification.Statistical analyses were performed to identify differential biomarkers among groups.RESULTS Six differential metabolites were identified in each grade of fibrosis.This six-metabolite profile was able to establish a clustering tendency in patients with the same grade of fibrosis;thus,they showed greater efficiency in discriminating grades.CONCLUSION This study suggests that some of the observed biomarkers,once validated,have the potential to be applied as prognostic biomarkers.Furthermore,it suggests that liquid biopsy analyses of plasma metabolites are a good source of molecular biomarkers capable of stratifying patients with CHC according to fibrosis grade.

Chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 virus:Who should wait for treatment?

Elucidation of the natural history of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and the identification of risk factors for its progression to advanced liver disease have allowed many physicians to recommend deferral treatment (triple therapy) in favour of waiting for new drug availability for patients who are at low risk of progression to significant liver disease. Newer generation drugs are currently under development, and are expected to feature improved efficacy and safety profiles, as well as less complex and shorter duration delivery regimens, compared to the current standards of care. In addition, patients with cirrhosis and prior null responders have a low rate (around 15%) of achieving sustained virological response (SVR) with triple therapy, and physicians must also consider the decision to wait for new treatments in the future for these patients as well. Naïve patients are the most likely to achieve a close to 100% SVR rate; therefore, it may be advisable to recommend that patients with mild to moderate CHC should wait for the newer therapy options. In contrast, patients with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis will be those with the greatest need for expedited therapeutic intervention. There remains a need, however, for establishing definitive clinical management guidelines to maximize the benefit of waiting for new drugs and minimize risk of side effects and non-response to the current triple therapy.

Stages of care for patients with chronic hepatitis C at a hospital in southern Brazil

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus(HCV)is defined as a public health problem by the World Health Organization(WHO)and since then has defined targets through the HCV elimination.The HCV cascade of care highlights the progress towards these goals and essential interventions that need to be delivered along this continuum care.AIM To document the treatment cascade for patients with HCV infection at the Hospital Nossa Senhora da Conceição(HNSC),defining the percentage of antibody-positive patients who collected molecular biology tests(polymerase chain reaction),attended outpatient clinic assistance,underwent treatment,and achieved a virologic cure termed sustained virologic response(SVR).METHODS With the retrospective cohort design,patients diagnosed with HCV infection in the period between January 1,2015 and December 31,2020 were included.Data from HCV notification forms,electronic medical records,Computerized Laboratory Environment Manager System,and Medicine Administration System(evaluation of special medications)were collected in 2022 and all information up to that period was considered.The data were analyzed with IBM SPSS version 25,and Poisson regression with robust simple variance was performed for analysis of variables in relation to each step of the cascade.Variables with P<0.20 were included in the multivariate analysis with P<0.05 considered significant.Pearson’s chi-square test was applied to compare the groups of patients who persisted in follow-up at the HNSC and who underwent follow-up at other locations.RESULTS Results were lower than expected by the WHO with only 49%of candidates receiving HCV treatment and only 29%achieving SVR,despite the 98%response rate to direct acting antivirals documented by follow-up examination.The city of origin and the place of follow-up were the variables associated with SVR and all other endpoints.When comparing the cascade of patients who remained assisted by the HNSC vs external patients,we observed superior data for HNSC patients in the SVR.Patients from the countryside and metropolitan region were mostly assisted at the HNSC and the specialized and continuous care provided at the HNSC was associated with superior results,although the outcomes remain far from the goals set by the WHO.CONCLUSION With the elaboration of the HCV cascade of care using local data,it was possible to stratify and evaluate risk factors associated with losses between each step of the cascade,to inform new strategies to guide elimination efforts in the future.

Detection of colorectal adenomas using artificial intelligence models in patients with chronic hepatitis C

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus is known for its oncogenic potential,especially in hepatocellular carcinoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.Several studies have shown that chronic hepatitis C(CHC)has an increased risk of the development of colorectal cancer(CRC).AIM To analyze this positive relationship and develop an artificial intelligence(AI)-based tool using machine learning(ML)algorithms to stratify these patient populations into risk groups for CRC/adenoma detection.METHODS To develop the AI automated calculator,we applied ML to train models to predict the probability and the number of adenomas detected on colonoscopy.Data sets were split into 70:30 ratios for training and internal validation.The Scikit-learn standard scaler was used to scale values of continuous variables.Colonoscopy findings were used as the gold standard and deep learning architecture was used to train six ML models for prediction.A Flask(customizable Python framework)application programming interface(API)was used to deploy the trained ML model with the highest accuracy as a web application.Finally,Heroku was used for the deployment of the web-based API to https://adenomadetection.herokuapp.com.RESULTS Of 415 patients,206 had colonoscopy results.On internal validation,the Bernoulli naive Bayes model predicted the probability of adenoma detection with the highest accuracy of 56%,precision of 55%,recall of 55%,and F1 measure of 54%.Support vector regressor predicted the number of adenomas with the least mean absolute error of 0.905.CONCLUSION Our AI-based tool can help providers stratify patients with CHC for early referral for screening colonoscopy.Along with providing a numerical percentage,the calculator can also comment on the number of adenomatous polyps a gastroenterologist can expect,prompting a higher adenoma detection rate.

Serum omentin-1 is correlated with the severity of liver disease in patients with chronic hepatitis C

BACKGROUND Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus(HCV)infection have increased serum omentin-1.Omentin-1 is an anti-inflammatory adipokine,and higher levels may be a direct effect of HCV infection.Successful elimination of HCV by direct acting antivirals almost normalized circulating levels of various molecules with a role in inflammation.AIM To evaluate the effect of HCV infection on serum omentin-1,serum omentin-1 levels of HCV patients were measured before therapy and at 12 wk after therapy end.Associations of serum omentin-1 with parameters of inflammation and liver function were explored at both time points.Serum omentin-1 levels of patients with and without liver cirrhosis,which was defined by ultrasound or the fibrosis-4(FIB-4)score,were compared.METHODS Serum omentin-1 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 84 chronic HCV patients before therapy and at 12 wk after therapy end where sustained virological response 12(SVR12)was achieved in all patients.Serum omentin-1 of 14 non-infected controls was measured in parallel.RESULTS In patients with chronic HCV,serum omentin-1 levels were not related to viral load or viral genotype.HCV patients with liver steatosis and HCV patients with diabetes had serum omentin-1 levels comparable to patients not suffering from these conditions.Serum omentin-1 levels at SVR12 were similar in comparison to pretreatment levels.In addition,serum levels did not differ between HCV-infected patients and non-infected controls.Serum omentin-1 levels did not correlate with leukocyte count or C-reactive protein.Positive correlations of serum omentin-1 with bilirubin and the model for end-stage liver disease score(MELD)were detected before therapy and at SVR12 in the whole cohort.Bilirubin and the MELD score also positively correlated with serum omentin-1 levels in the subgroup of patients with ultrasound diagnosed liver cirrhosis before therapy.At SVR12,serum omentin-1 levels of patients with liver cirrhosis negatively correlated with albumin.Before therapy start,patients with high FIB-4 scores had increased serum omentin-1 in comparison to patients with a low score.Serum omentin-1 levels of patients with liver cirrhosis defined by ultrasound were increased at baseline and at SVR12.CONCLUSION Present study showed that liver cirrhosis,but not HCV infection per se,is related to elevated serum omentin-1 levels.

Inflammation and fibrosis in chronic liver diseases including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and hepatitis C

At present chronic liver disease(CLD),the third commonest cause of premature death in the United Kingdom is detected late,when interventions are ineffective,resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality.Injury to the liver,the largest solid organ in the body,leads to a cascade of inflammatory events.Chronic inflammation leads to the activation of hepatic stellate cells that undergo transdifferentiation to become myofibroblasts,the main extra-cellular matrix producing cells in the liver;over time increased extra-cellular matrix production results in the formation of liver fibrosis.Although fibrogenesis may be viewed as having evolved as a“wound healing”process that preserves tissue integrity,sustained chronic fibrosis can become pathogenic culminating in CLD,cirrhosis and its associated complications.As the reference standard for detecting liver fibrosis,liver biopsy,is invasive and has an associated morbidity,the diagnostic assessment of CLD by non-invasive testing is attractive.Accordingly,in this review the mechanisms by which liver inflammation and fibrosis develop in chronic liver diseases are explored to identify appropriate and meaningful diagnostic targets for clinical practice.Due to differing disease prevalence and treatment efficacy,disease specific diagnostic targets are required to optimally manage individual CLDs such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and chronic hepatitis C infection.To facilitate this,a review of the pathogenesis of both conditions is also conducted.Finally,the evidence for hepatic fibrosis regression and the mechanisms by which this occurs are discussed,including the current use of antifibrotic therapy.

Peginterferon alfa-2a for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in the era of direct-acting antivirals

BACKGROUND: The availability of novel direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) represents a new era of curative hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment, with over 95% of patients infected with HCV genotype 1 achieving sustained virological response (SVR). Nevertheless, the majority of patients globally are unable to access these treatments because of cost and infrastructure constraints and, thus, remain untreated and uncured. DATA SOURCE: Relevant articles of peginterferon (PegIFN)-based treatments in HCV and sofosbuvir-based treatments, simeprevir, daclatasvir/asunaprevir, ritonavir-boosted paritaprevir/ombitasvir/dasabuvir, and grazoprevir/elbasvir, were searched in PubMed database, including general population and special population. RESULTS: PegIFN in combination with ribavirin remains an important and relevant option for some patients, achieving SVR rates of up to 79% in genotype 1 and 89% in genotype 2 or 3 infections, which increases for patients with favorable IL28B genotypes. Triple therapy of DAA plus PegIFN/ribavirin is effective in treating difficult-to-cure patients infected with HCV genotype 3 or with resistance-associated variants. Owing to its long history in HCV management, the efficacy, tolerability and long-term outcomes associated with PegIFN alfa-2a are well established and have been validated in large-scale studies and in clinical practice for many populations. Furthermore, emerging data show that IFN-induced SVR is associated with lower incidences of hepatocellular carcinoma compared with DAAs. On the contrary, novel DAAs have yet to be studied in special populations, and long-term outcomes, particularly tumor development and recurrence in patients with cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma, and reactivation of HBV in dually infected patients, are still unclear. CONCLUSION: In this interferon-free era, PegIFN-based regimens remain a safe and effective option for selected HCV patients.

Hepatic steatosis as a possible risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma after eradication of hepatitis C virus with antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C

AIM: To elucidate risk factors contributing to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among patients with sustained viral response (SVR) after interferon (IFN) treatment and to examine whether HCV-RNA still remained in the liver of SVR patients who developed HCC. METHODS: Two-hundred and sixty-six patients, who achieved SVR, were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively reviewed clinical, viral and histological features of the patients, and examined whether the development of HCC depends on several clinical variables using Kaplan-Meier Method. RT-PCR was used to seek HCV-RNA in 3 out of 7 patients in whom liver tissue was available for molecular analysis. RESULTS: Among the enrolled 266 patients with SVR, HCC developed in 7 patients (7/266; 2.6%). We failed to detect HCV-RNA both in cancer and non-cancerous liver tissue in all three patients. The cumulative incidence for HCC was significantly different depending on hepatic fibrosis (F3-4) (P = 0.0028), hepatic steatosis (Grade 2-3) (P = 0.0002) and age (≥ 55) (P = 0.021) at the pre-interferon treatment. CONCLUSION: The current study demonstrated that age, hepatic fibrosis, and hepatic steatosis at pre- interferon treatment might be risk factors for developing HCC after SVR.

Risk factors for liver-related mortality in chronic hepatitis C patients:A deceased case-living control study

AIM: To investigate the risk factors for liver-related mortality in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients.

Influence of vitamin D on liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the pooled clinical trials data

AIM To investigate the relationship between vitamin D and liver fibrosis in hepatitis C-monoinfected or hepatitis C virus(HCV)-human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) coinfected patients. METHODS Pertinent studies were located by a library literature search in PubM ed/Embase/Cochrane/Scopus/LILACS by two individual reviewers. Inclusion criteria:(1) studies with patients with HCV or co-infected HCV/HIV;(2) studies with patients ≥ 18 years old;(3) studies that evaluated liver fibrosis stage, only based on liver biopsy; and(4) studies that reported serum or plasma 25(OH)D levels. Studies that included pediatric patients, other etiologies of liver disease, or did not use liver biopsy for fibrosis evaluation, or studies with inadequate data were excluded. Estimated measures of association reported in the literature, as well as corresponding measures of uncertainty, were recorded and corresponding odds ratios with 95%CI were included in a meta-analysis. RESULTS The pooled data of this systematic review showed that 9 of the 12 studies correlated advanced liver disease defined as a Metavir value of F3/4 with 25(OH) D level insufficiency. The meta-analysis indicated a significant association across studies.CONCLUSION Low vitamin D status is common in chronic Hepatitis C patients and is associated with advanced liver fibrosis.

Individualization of chronic hepatitis C treatment according to the host characteristics

Hepatitis C virus(HCV)infection is a global health problem that affects more than 170 million people worldwide.It is a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma,making the virus the most common cause of liver failure and transplantation.The standardof-care treatment for chronic hepatitis C(CHC)has been changed during the last decade and direct acting antiviral drugs have already been used.Besides,understanding of the pathogenesis of CHC has evolved rapidly during the last years and now several host factors are known to affect the natural history and response to treatment.Recent genome-wide association studies have shown the important role of interleukin-28B and inosine triphosphatase in HCV infection.The present review article attempts to summarize the current knowledge on the role of host factors towards individualization of HCV treatment.

Impact of virus genotype on interferon treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C: a multicenter controlled study

BACKGROUND: Some factors have been reported to besassociated with a greater likelihood of sustained viral re-sponse ( SVR) in the interferon (IFN) treatment of chronichepatitis C. The factors include HCV genotype, HCVRNA level in serum, state of liver disease, baseline bodyweight, age, sex, and race. The aim of this trial was to in-vestigate the influence of HCV genotype on the IFN treat-ment of patients with chronic hepatitis C.METHODS: The genotypes of HCV virus were determinedin the patients with chronic hepatitis C from several hospi-tals of China enrolled into the randomized, opened andcontrolled trial of Peg-IFN alpha-2a (pegasys) treatment,controlled with IFN-α-2a (roferon-A). The serum ALTlevels and HCV RNA concentrations of the patients weredetected before and at the end of treatment and during thefollow-up. The influence of HCV genotype on the IFNtreatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C was analyzedin intention-to-treat (ITT) population.RESULTS: The HCV genotypes of 202 patients were deter-mined. Of these patients, 158(78.22%) were infected withgenotype 1 HCV and 44(21.78%) with genotype non-1.The viral response at the end of treatment (ETVR) andsustained viral response (SVR) rates were 53.80% and25.32% respectively in patients with genotype 1 HCV, butthey were 61.36% and 43.18% in patients with genotypenon-1. The difference of SVR between patients with geno-type 1 HCV and those with genotype non-1 was significant(P =0.021). After being grouped by the used drugs, theETVR rates of patients infected with genotype 1 and non-1HCV were 76.83% and 80.95% in the patients treated withpegasys (P =0.686); but their SVR rates were 35.37% and66.67% (P =0. 01). The viral relapse rate of genotype 1HCV (55.56%) was significantly higher than that of geno-type non-1 HCV (23.53%) (P=0.02). In roferon-A group,the ETVR and SVR rates of patients with genotype 1 HCVwere 28.95% and 14.47% respectively, which were lowerbut not more significant than those of patients with geno-type non-1 HCV (43.48% and 21.74%). Moreover, the vi-ral relapse rate of genotype 1 HCV (72.73%) was higherbut not more significant than that of genotype non-1 HCV(50.00%) (P=0.21).CONCLUSION: HCV genotype could affect the efficacies,mainly sustained responses, of IFN treatment in patientswith chronic hepatitis C, and the effects of IFN are relatedto drugs and therapeutic course.

Costimulatory molecule programmed death-1 in the cytotoxic response during chronic hepatitis C

Hepatitis C virus（HCV）-specific CD8^＋ T cells play an important role in the resolution of HCV infection. Nevertheless, during chronic hepatitis C these cells lack their effector functions and fail to control the virus. HCV has developed several mechanisms to escape immune control. One of these strategies is the upregulation of negative co-stimulatory molecules such us programmed death-1 （PD-1）. This molecule is upregulated on intrahepatic and peripheral HCV-specific cytotoxic T cells during acute and chronic phases of the disease, whereas PD-1 expression is low in resolved infection. PD-1 expressing HCV-specific CD8^＋ T cells are exhausted with impairment of several effector mechanisms, such as： type-1 cytokine production, expansion ability after antigen encounter and cytotoxic ability. However, PD-1 associated exhaustion can be restored by blocking the interaction between PD-1 and its ligand （PD-L1）. After this blockade, HCV-specific CD8^＋ T cells reacquire their functionality. Nevertheless, functional restoration depends on PD-1 expression level. High PD-l-expressing intrahepatic HCV-specific CD8^＋ T cells do not restore their effector abilities after PD-1/ PD-L1 blockade. The mechanisms by which HCV is able to induce PD-1 up-regulation to escape immune control are unknown. Persistent TCR stimulation by a high level of HCV antigens could favour early PD-1 induction, but the interaction between HCV core protein and gClq receptor could also participate in this process. The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway modulation could be a therapeutic strategy, in conjunction with the regulation of others co-stimulatory pathways, in order to restore immune response aclainst HCV to succeed in clearing the infection.

Influence of iron on the severity of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C

AIM： To evaluate the association among hepatic fibrosis, serum iron indices, and hepatic iron stores in patients with Chronic Hepatitis C （CHC）. METHODS： Thirty-two CHC patients were included in our study. The histological degree of fibrosis and inflammation activity was assessed according to the Metavir system. The serum iron indices including ferritin, iron and transferrin saturation were measured. Hepatic iron deposition was graded by Perls＇ stain. RESULTS： The CHC patients with severe hepatic fibrosis （n = 16） were significantly older than CHC patients with mild fibrosis （n = 16） （P = 0.024）. The serum iron indices, increased serum iron store and positive hepatic iron stain were not significantly different between the two groups. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the age at biopsy was an independent predictor of severe hepatic fibrosis （Odds ratio = 1.312; P = 0.035）. The positive hepatic iron stain was significantly associated with the values of alanine aminotransferase （ALT） （P = 0.017）, ferritin （P = 0.008）, serum iron （P = 0.019） and transferrin saturation （P = 0.003）. The ferritin level showed significant correlation with the value ofALT （r = 0.531; P = 0.003）, iron （r = 0.467; P = 0.011） and transferrin saturation （r = 0.556; P = 0.002）. CONCLUSION： Our findings suggest that the severity of hepatitis C virus （HCV）-related liver injury is associated with patient age at biopsy. Both serum iron indices and hepatic iron deposition show correlation with serum indices of chronic liver disease but are not related to grade and stage of liver histology.

Prevalence of IFNL3 rs4803217 single nucleotide polymorphism and clinical course of chronic hepatitis C

AIM To evaluate the association of IFNL3(IL28B) SNP rs4803217 with severity of disease and treatment outcome in chronic hepatitis C(CHC).METHODS The study enrolled 196 CHC Polish patients(82 women and 114 men in age 20-64) infected with hepatitis C virus(HCV) genotype 1. They were treatment na?ve and qualified to pegylated interferon alpha(PEG-IFN-α) and ribavirin(RBV) therapy. The analyzed baseline parameters included: degree of inflammation, stage of fibrosis, viral load as well as alanine aminotransferase(ALT), asparagine aminotransferase(AST) and total bilirubin(TBIL). The analysis of response to therapy included: sustained virological response(SVR), defined as undetectable serum HCV RNA level six month after completion of 48-wk therapy, and relapse, defined as achieving undetectable viral load at the end of treatment but not SVR. HCV genotyping and HCV RNA quantification were performed using commercially available tests. DNA was isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells or from buccal cell swabs. In addition to rs4803217, also single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)(rs12979860, rs8099917 and rs12980275) of known significance in predicting of HCV clearance were analyzed. SNPs were determined by high resolution melt analysis and confirmed by sequencing of amplicons. RESULTS Frequency of rs4803217 genotypes in studied group was as follows: 27.55%; 54.59% and 17.86% for CC, CA and AA, respectively. The rs4803217 SNP, similar to other analyzed SNPs, was not associated with severity of CHC(grade of inflammation, stage of fibrosis, baseline viral load as well as biochemical parameters: ALT, AST, TBIL). It was demonstrated that the rs4803217 C allele is associated with SVR(C vs A: P < 0.0001; dose of C allele: P = 0.0002) and nonrelapse(C vs A: P = 0.001; dose of C allele: P = 0.002). Moreover, it was found that patients with CC genotype have significantly higher response rates as compared with CA/AA patients(P < 0.0001), whereas patients carrying A allele are significantly predisposed to relapse after treatment(P = 0.0007). Moreover, the association of rs4803217 with SVR was comparable to that of rs12979860 and stronger as observed for rs12980275 and rs8099917. Association of rs4803217 with relapse, was the strongest as compared with the other SNPs. The analysis of combined rs4803217 and rs8099917 genotypes demonstrated that additional genotyping of rs8099917 had no significant impact on the prediction of SVR. Multivariate analysis revealed that among analyzed SNPs only rs4803217 is an independent predictor of SVR(P = 0.016) and relapse(P = 0.024). CONCLUSION The rs4803217 SNP is a strong, independent and superior predictor of SVR and relapse in HCV genotype 1 infected CHC patients treated with PEG-IFN-α and RBV.

Direct-acting antivirals for chronic hepatitis C treatment: The experience of two tertiary university centers in Brazil

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus(HCV)treatment has undergone major changes in recent years.Previous interferon-based therapies have been replaced by oral direct-acting antivirals(DAA)regimens,with high sustained virologic response(SVR)rates,and a lower incidence of adverse events(AEs).AIM To evaluate the efficacy and safety of DAAs for HCV treatment in subjects from two tertiary university centers in Brazil.METHODS This is a multicenter retrospective cohort study of 532 patients with chronic hepatitis C(CHC),undergoing treatment with interferon-free regimens from November 2015 to November 2019.The therapeutic regimen was defined by the current Brazilian guidelines for HCV management at the time of treatment.Demographic,anthropometric,clinical,and laboratory variables were evaluated.SVRs were assessed at 12 to 24 wk after therapy by intention-to-treat(ITT),and modified ITT(m-ITT)analysis.AEs and serious adverse events(SAEs)were registered.In the statistical analysis,a P value of<0.05 was considered significant.RESULTS The mean age was 56.88 years,with 415(78.5%)being HCV genotype 1,followed by genotype 3(20.1%).Moreover,306(57.5%)subjects had cirrhosis,and a third of them had decompensated cirrhosis.Sofosbuvir(SOF)plus daclatasvir±ribavirin was the most frequently used treatment(66.9%),followed by SOF plus simeprevir(21.2%).The overall ITT SVR was 92.6%(493/532),while the m-ITT SVR was 96.8%(493/509).Variables associated with treatment failure via ITT evaluation were hepatic encephalopathy(OR:4.320;95%CI:1.920-9.721,P=0.0004),presence of esophageal varices(OR:2.381;95%CI:1.137-4.988,P=0.0215),previous portal hypertensive bleeding(OR:2.756;95%CI:1.173-6.471,P=0.02),higher model for end-stage liver disease scores(OR:1.143,95%CI:1.060–1.233,P=0.0005),lower serum albumin levels(OR:0.528,95%CI:0.322-0.867,P=0.0115),higher serum creatinine(OR:1.117,95%CI:1.056-1.312,P=0.0033),and international normalized ratio(INR)levels(OR:5.542,95%CI:2.023-15.182,P=0.0009).AEs were reported in 41.1%(211/514)of patients,and SAEs in 3.7%.The female gender,higher body mass index,esophageal varices,higher INR values,and longer treatment duration were independently associated with AE occurrence.CONCLUSION Treatment with oral DAAs attains a high SVR rate,with fewer SAEs in a real-life cohort of subjects with CHC,from two tertiary university centers in Brazil.

Cascade of care for children and adolescents with chronic hepatitis C

Chronic hepatitis C virus(HCV)infection presents a significant global public health burden.In 2015,over 400000 deaths worldwide were attributed to HCV infection.This led the World Health Organization(WHO)in 2016 to set the ambitious goal of eliminating HCV by 2030.Adult-centered guidelines have been established in order to provide direction for healthcare professionals,allowing integration of the newest screening policies and therapeutic strategies into their practices.However,for children and adolescents,HCV is a significant,unrecognized public health problem.HCV infection rates in the United States in women of childbearing age and those who are pregnant have increased in parallel with the rising opioid epidemic.An estimated 29000 women with HCV infection gave birth each year from 2011 to 2014 in the United States,with approximately 1700 of their infants being infected with HCV.Newer HCV-specific therapeutics,namely direct acting antivirals(DAA),has brought a new and highly successful approach to treatment of hepatitis C.Recent studies have confirmed similar levels of effectiveness and safety of DAA therapies in the pediatric population.Thus,an enhanced cascade of care,which should include the population under 18 years of age,can help achieve the WHO goal by focusing on elimination in the youngest populations.This review will present an overview of the natural history,clinical features,and management of HCV in children and adolescents.