Hepatitis C: Host and Viral Factors Associated with Response to Therapy and Progression of Liver Fibrosis

Abstract

The goal of this study was to identify the baseline host and viral factors of response to antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Compared with interferon/ribavirin therapy, new current direct-acting antiviral (DAA) combination regimens significantly increased rate of sustained virologic response (SVR) and shorter treatment durations, but is still limited by viral resistance, adverse effects, and high cost especially in developing countries. Human genetic factors and heterogeneity within the HCV genome may be associated with virologic treatment failure before and after antiviral therapy. Further, HCV infection may contribute to the development of HCV-related liver disease and hepatocarcinogenesis, through modulating genetic and epigenetic state of certain genes implicated in control of critical cellular pathways. Previous results confirm the importance of host and viral factors and virus-induced genetic and epigenetic changes in predicting outcome and treatment response.

Predictive factors for acquiring HCV infection in the population residing in high endemic, resource-limited settings

“…[ 1 ] The prevalence of chronic HCV is estimated to be 1.1% with high variation in different regions of the world. [ 2 3 ] The prevalence in general population varies between 0.5 to 6.5% with 0.5–15% variation in western countries. In southeast Asia and Mediterranean regions, the prevalence reaches up to 2.3% while in Europe it is around 1.5.…”