Reddy N, Naylor P, Hakim Z, Asbahi R, Ravindran K, May E, Ehrinpreis M, Mutchnick M. Effect of Treatment for CHC on Liver Disease Progression and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development in African Americans.
J Clin Transl Hepatol 2015;
3:163-8. [PMID:
26623262 PMCID:
PMC4663197 DOI:
10.14218/jcth.2015.00013]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Revised: 05/14/2015] [Accepted: 05/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
African Americans (AA) historically have a low response rate to hepatitis C therapies, and there is limited information available for this patient population regarding the development and treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The aim of this study was to evaluate liver disease progression and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development in AA with CHC.
METHODS
Between 1995 and 2008, 246 AA patients with CHC were identified from a database of patients and followed until 2012-2013 (average 8 years) or the development of HCC after 2008.
RESULTS
Viral clearance (intent to treat; sustained virus response (SVR)) was achieved in 15% of patients with interferon based therapies with or without ribavirin. AA patients who achieved an SVR (n=22) did not develop HCC or new onset cirrhosis, whereas the HCC incidence in untreated AA patients was 23% (51/203). Patients who achieved an SVR also had improved fibrosis, as defined by the AST Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) and Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score, relative to nonresponders and untreated patients.
CONCLUSIONS
The severity of liver disease at the first visit (except for cirrhosis) correlated with the development of HCC, but because of the overlap in values between patients, these measurements were not useful for predicting individual risk. Since cirrhosis at the first visit was not a predictive factor, treatment with newer antiviral therapies is the best option for reducing the incidence of advanced liver disease and its harmful outcomes in the AA population.
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