Sofosbuvir-based therapy for patients with chronic hepatitis C: Early experience of its efficacy and safety in Korea
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology
; : 358-364, 2015.
Article
in En
| WPRIM
| ID: wpr-91728
Responsible library:
WPRO
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: The previous standard treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients, comprising a combination of pegylated interferon (IFN) and ribavirin, was associated with suboptimal efficacy and severe adverse reactions. A new era of direct-acting antivirals is now dawning in Korea. Early experience of applying sofosbuvir-based therapy to CHC patients in Korea is reported herein. METHODS: Data on efficacy and safety were collected for CHC patients treated with a combination of sofosbuvir plus ribavirin or sofosbuvir/ledipasvir with or without ribavirin. RESULTS: This retrospective study included 25 consecutive patients who received sofosbuvir-based therapy (19 with genotype 1b and 6 with genotype 2) at Seoul National University Hospital from May 2014 to April 2015. A virologic response was achieved at week 4 by 85.7% and 80% of the patients with genotypes 1b and 2, respectively. The HCV-RNA level decreased more slowly in IFN-experienced than in treatment-naive patients with genotype 1b. However, the sustained virologic response at week 12 (SVR12) rate did not differ among these patients, and was as high as 100%. The presence of cirrhosis significantly increased the risk of a virologic response failure at week 4 (OR, 11.0; P=0.011) among patients with HCV genotype 1b. Only five patients (20%) experienced minor adverse events, including grade 1 fatigue and headache. The hemoglobin level decreased slightly after sofosbuvir-based therapy, but there was no case of premature discontinuation of this therapy. CONCLUSIONS: In a real clinical practice, sofosbuvir-based therapy for CHC patients in Korea achieved optimal antiviral efficacy with insignificant adverse events. Long-term follow-up data are warranted to ensure the sustained antiviral efficacy and long-term safety of sofosbuvir-based IFN-free therapy.
Key words
Full text:
1
Index:
WPRIM
Main subject:
Antiviral Agents
/
Ribavirin
/
Hemoglobins
/
RNA, Viral
/
Retrospective Studies
/
Treatment Outcome
/
Hepacivirus
/
Hepatitis C, Chronic
/
Drug Therapy, Combination
/
Fatigue
Type of study:
Observational_studies
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
Clinical and Molecular Hepatology
Year:
2015
Type:
Article