Serum Biomarkers Indicate Long-term Reduction in Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Sustained Virological Response to Treatment for HCV Infection
Recommended Citation
Lu M, Li J, Zhang T, Rupp LB, Trudeau S, Holmberg SD, Moorman AC, Spradling PR, Teshale EH, Xu F, Boscarino JA, Schmidt MA, Vijayadeva V, and Gordon SC. Long-term reduction in liver fibrosis, based on serum biomarkers, in patients with sustained viral responses to HCV treatment. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2016; 14(7):1044-1055.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2016
Publication Title
Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Sustained virological response (SVR) to antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) correlates with changes in biochemical measures of liver function. However, little is known about the long-term effects of SVR on liver fibrosis. We investigated the effects of HCV therapy on fibrosis, based on the Fibrosis-4 (FIB4) score, over a 10-year period.
METHODS: We collected data from participants in the Chronic Hepatitis Cohort Study-a large observational multicenter study of patients with hepatitis at 4 US health systems-from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2013. We calculated patients' FIB4 score and the aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) score over a 10-year period. Of 4731 patients with HCV infection, 1657 (35%) were treated and 755 (46%) of these patients achieved SVR.
RESULTS: In propensity score-adjusted analyses, we observed significant longitudinal changes in FIB4 score that varied with treatment and response to treatment. In patients achieving SVR, FIB4 scores decreased sharply, remaining significantly lower over the 10-year period than in untreated patients or patients with treatment failure (P < .001). In independent analyses, men and patients with HCV genotype 1 or 3 infections had higher FIB4 scores than women or patients with HCV genotype 2 infections (P < .01 for both). Findings were similar in a sensitivity analysis that substituted the APRI as the marker of fibrosis instead of the FIB4 score.
CONCLUSIONS: SVR to HCV treatment appears to induce long-term regression of fibrosis based on FIB4 scores collected over 10 years from a large observational study of US hepatitis patients. Patients receiving no treatment or with treatment failure had progressive increases in FIB4 scores.
Medical Subject Headings
Adult; Aged; Antiviral Agents; Biomarkers; Female; Hepatitis C, Chronic; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Retrospective Studies; Serum; Sustained Virologic Response; Treatment Outcome; United States
PubMed ID
26804385
Volume
14
Issue
7
First Page
1044
Last Page
1055
