Japanese Man with HCV Genotype 4 Infection and Cirrhosis Who Was Successfully Treated by the Combination of Glecaprevir and Pibrentasvir

Successful treatment of Japanese hemophilia patient co-infected with HIV and HCV genotype 4a by glecaprevir/pibrentasvir therapy

Although direct-acting antiviral (DAA)-based anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapies are very effective for patients with genotypes 1 and 2, evidence of the efficacy of DAA-based therapy for the special population of patients with genotypes 3-6 is insufficient due to the relatively small number of these subjects in Japan. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HCV-co-infected patients are recommended to be treated as HCV-mono-infected patients by the latest version of the Japan Society of Hepatology guidelines. However, evidence of efficacy in patients with HIV/HCV genotype 3-6 co-infection is insufficient. Currently, HCV genotypes 3-6 can be treated with two DAA-based therapies, including glecaprevir (GLE)/pibrentasvir (PIB) therapy in Japan. We experienced a relatively rare case of a Japanese hemophilia patient co-infected with HIV/HCV genotype 4a. We evaluated resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) against GLE and PIB before GLE/PIB therapy and found that he had no RASs. He was treated with 12 weeks of GLE/PIB therapy and achieved a sustained virologic response at post-treatment weeks 24. Although the treatment was well tolerated, the patient developed hyper-low-density lipoproteinemia that was probably associated with HCV elimination during the therapy. Additional studies are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of GLE/PIB therapy for this special population in Japan.