Sofosbuvir: an all-around drug in hepatitis C treatment new era – The first phase

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a slowly progressive disease affecting more than 185 million people worldwide. For many years, the combination of pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) has been the backbone of treatment for patients infected with HCV. More than two years ago, the first generation direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) – the protease inhibitors boceprevir and telaprevir – were approved for treatment of genotype 1 patients, doubling the cure rate. The new DAAs that have been developed, are effective for multiple genotypes, improve rates of sustained viral response with fewer side effects, simplify dosing and drug-drug interactions, and in some patients, offer the promise of interferon-free and/or ribavirin-free therapy. These new agents include the recently approved second generation protease inhibitor, the HCV NS5B polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir and the NS3/4A protease inhibitor simeprevir as well as several other agents that are currently in later phases of development. With sofosbuvir-based regimens, successful interferon-free treatment is now available across all genotypes. In fact sofosbuvir is very effective in combination with Peg-interferon and ribavirine or with ribavirine alone or with other direct anti-viral agents. The following assessment evaluates the evidence on the clinical effectiveness and harms of sofosbuvir for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Ledipasvir/sofosbuvir: the fixed dose combination in the new era of treatment for HCV

Interferon-based treatment is not suitable for many patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection because of contraindications, other reasons for ineligibility and side-effects. The fixed dosed combination ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (LDV / SOF) is the first approved regimen that doesn't require administration with interferon or ribavirin. LDV / SOF is also the first single-pill approved for the treatment of chronic HCV genotype 1 in both treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients. The results of the phase III studies demonstrate the combination has been very well tolerated and SVR rates consistently above 90%. Objective of this review is to present clinical evidence of efficacy and safety of the combination LDV / SOF in different subgroups of patients with HCV

A Review of HDV Infection

Hepatitis D is the most severe viral hepatitis. Hepatitis D virus (HDV) has a very small RNA genome with unique biological properties. It requires for infection the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and is transmitted parenterally, mainly by superinfection of HBsAg carriers who then develop chronic hepatitis D. HDV has been brought under control in high-income countries by the implementation of HBV vaccination, and the clinical pattern has changed to a chronic hepatitis D seen in ageing patients with advanced fibrotic disease; the disease remains a major health concern in developing countries of Africa and Asia. Every HBsAg-positive subject should be tested for HDV serum markers by reflex testing, independently of clinical status. Vaccination against HBV provides the best prophylaxis against hepatitis D. The only therapy available so far has been the poorly performing Interferon alfa; however, several new and promising therapeutic approaches are under study

non invasive methods for the assessment of hepatic fibrosis transient elastography hyaluronic acid 13c aminopyrine breath test and cytokeratin 18 fragment

Background. In the management of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients, liver biopsy is the gold standard for liver fibrosis assessment despite some technical limits and risks. Non-invasive approaches have been proposed as alternative methods to evaluate structural liver damage. Aim. To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of transient elastography, 13C-aminopyrine breath test ( 13 C-ABT), serum hyaluronic acid (HA) and cytokeratin 18 Asp396 fragment (CK-18) as non-invasive methods of liver fibrosis assessment ad their correlation to METAVIR score. Material and methods. In a cohort of 57 CHC patients, liver stiffness, cumulative percentage of administered dose of 13C-aminopyrine at 120 min, serum HA and serum CK-18 concentration were determined. Diagnostic accuracy in detecting significant fibrosis (F ≥ 2), severe fibrosis (F ≥ 3) and cirrhosis (F = 4) was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results. Liver fibrosis score showed a strong correlation with liver stiffness (r = 0.667; p < 0.0001) and a significant inverse correlation with 13C-ABT results (r = -0.418; p = 0.0012). A weaker correlation was found with CK18 (r = 0.329; p = 0.0126) and no correlation with HA. Areas under the curve of elastography, 13C-ABT, HA and CK18 were: 0.98, 0.75, 0.69, 0.64, respectively, for F ≥ 2; 0.97, 0.69, 0.80, 0.66, respectively, for F ≥ 3; 0.95, 0.64, 0.70, 0.56, respectively, for F = 4. Conclusion. Elastography has the best diagnostic accuracy for the assessment of the degree of liver fibrosis in CHC patients. Its application can provide an alternative useful tool for monitoring the disease evolution

Usefulness of a Hepatitis B Surface Antigen-Based Model for the Prediction of Functional Cure in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection Treated with Nucleos(t)ide Analogues: A Real-World Study

In patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) under long-term treatment with nucleso(t)ide analogues (NAs), the loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is a rare event. A growing body of evidence supports the use of quantitative HBsAg for the prediction of functional cure, although these results are mainly derived from studies performed on Asian patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive CHB. Here, we investigated the clinical role of quantitative HBsAg in a real-life cohort of CHB patients under treatment with NAs in a tertiary care center from North-West Italy. A total of 101 CHB patients (HBeAg-negative, n = 86) undergoing NAs treatment were retrospectively enrolled. HBsAg was measured at baseline (T0), 6 months (T1), 12 months (T2) and at the last follow-up (FU). Median FU was 5.5 (3.2–8.3) years; at the end of FU, 11 patients lost the HBsAg (annual incidence rate = 1.8%). Baseline HBsAg levels were significantly different between patients with no HBsAg loss and those achieving a functional cure (3.46, 2.91–3.97 vs. 1.11, 0.45–1.98 Log IU/mL, p < 0.001). Similarly, the HBsAg decline (Δ) from T0 to T2 was significantly different between the two groups of patients (0.05, −0.04–0.13, vs. 0.38, 0.11–0.80 Log IU/mL, p = 0.002). By stratified cross-validation analysis, the combination of baseline HBsAg and ΔHBsAg T0–T2 showed an excellent accuracy for the prediction of HBsAg loss (C statistic = 0.966). These results corroborate the usefulness of quantitative HBsAg in Caucasian CHB patients treated with antivirals for the prediction of HBsAg seroclearance