Introduction. Until the 1990s, there was no available treatment for chronic
hepatitis C, but during this decade the benefits of interferon-alfa therapy
were reported. At the end of the 1990s, the pegylated interferon-alfa 2a/b
has significantly altered the treatment, whereas direct acting antivirals
have significantly affected the treatment. The aim of this study was to show
the most significant predictive factors of therapy response among patients
with chronic hepatitis C treated with pegylated interferon- alfa 2a/b and
ribavirin. Material and Methods. A non-randomized retrospective study
included 292 patients with chronic hepatitis C treated at the Clinic for
Infectious Diseases, Clinical Center of Vojvodina, from 2008 to 2015.
Results. The study showed that therapeutic response was not affected by sex,
serum viral load, or if the therapy was applied for the first time or
repeated. A sustained virological response was statistically significantly
more frequent in younger patients, as well as in patients without
extrahepatic manifestations. Cases with higher progression of fibrosis were
associated with lower chance for sustained virological response. Genotype 1
showed to be a predictor of adverse response to therapy, and genotype 3 as a
predictor of sustained virological response. Steatosis was significantly less
frequent in patients with genotype 1 with sustained virological response.
Patients with a shorter duration of infection were more prone to sustained
virological response. Conclusion. A positive response to pegylated
interferon-alfa 2a/b and ribavirin was found in 70.20% of patients with
chronic hepatitis C. Elderly age, late detection of the infection, hepatitis
C virus 1 genotype, fibrosis progression, presence of hepatic steatosis, and
extrahepatic manifestations were risk factors for poor treatment outcome.
Su1030 Genetic Variation in Vitamin D Pathway DHCR7 Gene Predicts Poor Response to Pegylated Interferon-Alfa Based Therapy in Asian Chronic Hepatitis C Genotype 1-Infected Patients
