Histologic outcomes in hepatitis C-infected patients with varying degrees of virologic response to interferon-based treatments

Pockros PJ, Hamzeh FM, Martin P, Lentz E, Zhou X, Govindarajan S, Lok AS.
Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA.

Abstract

Patients with chronic hepatitis C with partial virologic response or nonresponse to interferon-based therapies can experience treatment-related improvements in liver histology. This retrospective analysis assessed the histologic response to treatment in patients with varying degrees of virologic response (sustained virologic response [SVR], breakthrough, relapse, or nonresponse), time to hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA undetectability, and duration of viral suppression. Patients (HCV genotypes 1-6) with baseline and follow-up liver biopsies from eight phase 2 to phase 4 interferon-based trials were analyzed. Blinded biopsies were evaluated by a single pathologist. Improvements or worsening of METAVIR necroinflammatory activity and fibrosis were defined as increase or decrease of >/=1 grading category from baseline to 24 weeks after end of treatment. A majority of the 1571 patients with paired biopsy data were white, male, with HCV genotype 1/4, baseline HCV RNA levels >800,000 IU/mL, and baseline alanine aminotransferase levels HEPATOLOGY 2010;).

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