Authors: Gad, Rita Raafat¹; Males, Sylvia²; El Makhzangy, Hesham³; Shouman, Soheir⁴; Hasan, Aboubakr⁴; Attala, Mohamed⁴; El Hoseiny, Mostafa¹; Zalata, Khaled⁵; Abdel-Hamid, Mohamed; Fontanet, Arnaud²; Mohamed, Mostafa K.¹; Esmat, Gamal³

Source: Liver International, Volume 28, Number 8, September 2008 , pp. 1112-1119(8)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

Objectives:

To determine the clinical, biological, virological and histological predictive factors associated with a sustained virological response (SVR) to combined interferon therapy among Egyptian patients infected by genotype 4 hepatitis C virus (HCV). Patients and Methods:

Individual data from 250 patients with genotype 4 chronic hepatitis C, treated with different regimens of combined interferon, were analysed. The primary end point was SVR defined as undetectable HCV RNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) 24 weeks after the end of treatment. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to select the independent prognostic parameters associated with SVR. Results:

A sustained virological response was achieved among 137/250 (54.8%) patients. Baseline factors independently and negatively associated with SVR were serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) level (above 0.3 upper limit of normal) [odds ratio (OR)=0.5, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2-0.8], severe fibrosis (Metavir score >F2) (OR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.8), presence of steatosis (OR=0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.97) and standard interferon treatment (OR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.8). Conclusions:

Among genotype 4 chronic hepatitis C patients, severe fibrosis, severe steatosis, treatment with standard interferon and a high serum AFP level were all negatively associated with SVR. Pretreatment serum AFP level should be considered in the routine assessment of factors predictive of a treatment response.

Keywords: adherence to treatment; α-fetoprotein; chronic hepatitis C; pegylated interferon; sustained virological response; treatment response predictors

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-3231.2008.01750.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Community, Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt 2: Unité d'Épidémiologie des Maladies Émergentes, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France 3: Department of Tropical Medicine and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt 4: Department of Tropical Diseases, National Hepatology and Tropical Medicine and Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt 5: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Mansoura, Mansoura, Egypt

Publication date: 2008-09-01

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Gastroenterology
• By this author: Gad, Rita Raafat ;  Males, Sylvia ;  El Makhzangy, Hesham ;  Shouman, Soheir ;  Hasan, Aboubakr ;  Attala, Mohamed ;  El Hoseiny, Mostafa ;  Zalata, Khaled ;  Abdel-Hamid, Mohamed ;  Fontanet, Arnaud ;  Mohamed, Mostafa K. ;  Esmat, Gamal

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers