Erschienen in:
01.07.2012 | Article
Early quantification of HCV core antigen may help to determine the duration of therapy for chronic genotype 2 or 3 HCV infection
verfasst von:
Å. Alsiö, A. Jannesson, N. Langeland, C. Pedersen, M. Färkkilä, M. R. Buhl, K. Mørch, J. Westin, K. Hellstrand, G. Norkrans, M. Lagging, for the NORDynamIC Study Group
Erschienen in:
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
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Ausgabe 7/2012
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Abstract
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the utility of hepatitis C virus (HCV) core antigen (coreAg) assessment for the identification of candidates for short-term therapy. Plasma samples from HCV genotype 2 or 3-infected patients participating in the NORDynamIC trial (n = 382) comparing 12 and 24 weeks of combination treatment with pegylated interferon-α2a and a fixed dose of 800 mg ribavirin daily were analyzed for coreAg. Among the 126 patients (33% of the intention-to-treat population) achieving HCV coreAg levels in plasma below 0.2 pg/mL when assayed on treatment day 3, sustained viral response (SVR) rates of 86% and 84% were achieved in the 12- and 24-week arms, respectively. Similarly, among patients having received at least 80% of the target dose of both pegylated interferon α-2a and of ribavirin for at least 80% of the target treatment duration (per-protocol analysis), the SVR rates were 89% and 95%, respectively. Twelve weeks of combination treatment may be sufficient for genotype 2 or 3-infected patients achieving HCV coreAg levels below 0.2 pg/mL by day 3, signaling a rapid clearance of HCV viremia.