Treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 3 with Sofosbuvir-based therpy: a real-life study

Effect of adding daclatasvir in sofosbuvir-based therapy in genotype 3 hepatitis C: real-world experience in Pakistan

OBJECTIVE

To determine real-world effect of adding daclatasvir (DCV) to chronic hepatitis C treatment by comparing sustained viral response of sofosbuvir (SOF)/DCV±ribavirin (RBV) and SOF+RBV combination in patients with genotype 3 hepatitis C.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with chronic hepatitis C, genotype 3, presenting at the DHMC Hepatology Clinic from October 2014 till March 2018 were treated initially with 6 months of SOF/RBV, and once DCV was available, with SOF/DCV±RBV for 3 or 6 months. Negative hepatitis C virus RNA by PCR, sustained viral response 12 weeks after treatment (SVR12), was the primary end point for per-protocol analysis.

RESULTS

The mean age of the 440 enrolled patients was 51.04 (±11.9) years, and male to female ratio was 0.97/1 (217/223). Liver cirrhosis was present in 260 (59.1%) patients, and 89 (20.2%) had decompensated liver disease. Treatment-experienced patients were 124 (28.2%). We included 398 (90.4%) patients with completed follow-up in final analysis, excluding either dropped out, failed to complete therapy or died during follow-up. SVR12 was achieved in 366 (91.9%), being significantly lower (P=0.001) in patients with cirrhosis at 89.9% (205/228), and even lower SVR12 (P=0.006) in decompensated cirrhosis at 87.01% (67/77). SVR12 was also inferior (P=0.005) in treatment experienced patients at 85.8% (97/113) than treatment-naive patients at 94.3% (269/285). Among 285 patients treated with SOF/RBV, SVR12 was achieved in 264 (92.6%), which is not significantly different from SVR12 with SOF/DCV±RBV at 90.2% (102/113) (P=0.57).

CONCLUSION

In patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 3, SOF/RBV and SOF/DCV±RBV have similar sustained viral response, and patients with liver cirrhosis and past treatment experience have suboptimal response in Pakistan.

Systematic review and meta-analysis: real-world effectiveness of direct-acting antiviral therapies in chronic hepatitis C genotype 3 in Asia

BACKGROUND

Genotype 3 (GT3) is a common chronic hepatitis C (CHC) genotype in Asia. Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens have high cure rates, but real-world results are limited for Asia.

AIM

To determine the real-world effectiveness of DAAs for patients with CHC GT3 in Asia.

METHODS

A systematic search was performed in PubMed (including MEDLINE), Embase, and selected international meeting abstract repositories. Eligible studies were postmarketing observational studies from Asia with the primary outcome of sustained virological response 12 weeks after completion of treatment (SVR12).

RESULTS

A total of 15 studies with 4230 patients yielded a pooled SVR12 of 92.7%. High heterogeneity (I2=93.2%, P<0.0001) was noted. In subgroup analyses, patients with cirrhosis had 10.9% lower SVR12 than non-cirrhotic patients (88.6% vs 98.9%; P<0.0001) and contributed 69.5% of the heterogeneity. Prior treatment failure did not reduce the pooled SVR12 (treatment-naïve: 94.6%, 95% CI 91.3% to 96.7% vs treatment-experienced: 94.0%, 95% CI 77.5% to 98.6%; P=0.89). Twenty-four weeks of sofosbuvir+ribavirin dual therapy was the most commonly used regimen which led to similar SVR12 (OR=1.1, P=0.73) but lower adverse event rate than 12 weeks of sofosbuvir+ribavirin+pegylated interferon triple therapy.

CONCLUSION

Sofosbuvir+ribavirin for 24 weeks is the most widely used and generally well-tolerated DAA therapy in Asia. However, its effectiveness is not optimal in GT3 patients with cirrhosis.

Efficacy of generic oral directly acting agents in patients with hepatitis C virus infection

Novel direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are now the standard of care for the management of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Branded DAAs are associated with high sustained virological response at 12 weeks post-completion of therapy (SVR12), but are costly. We aimed to assess the efficacy of generic oral DAAs in a real-life clinical scenario. Consecutive patients with known HCV infection who were treated with generic-oral DAA regimens (May 2015 to January 2017) were included. Demographic details, prior therapy and SVR12 were documented. Four hundred and ninety patients (mean age: 38.9 ± 12.7 years) were treated with generic DAAs in the study time period. Their clinical presentations included chronic hepatitis (CHC) in 339 (69.2%) of cases, compensated cirrhosis in 120 (24.48%) cases and decompensated cirrhosis in 31 (6.32%) cases. Genotype 3 was most common (n = 372, 75.9%) followed by genotype 1 (n = 97, 19.8%). Treatment naïve and treatment-experienced (defined as having previous treatment with peginterferon and ribavirin) were 432 (88.2%) and 58 (11.8%), respectively. Generic DAA treatment regimens included sofosbuvir in combination with ribavirin (n = 175), daclatasvir alone (n = 149), ribavirin and peginterferon (n = 80), ledipasvir alone (n = 43), daclatasvir and ribavirin (n = 37), and ledipasvir and ribavirin (n = 6). Overall SVR12 was 95.9% (470/490) for all treatment regimens. SVR12 for treatment naïve and experienced patients was 97.0% (419/432) and 87.9% (51/58), respectively, P = .005. High SVR12 was observed with various regimens, irrespective of genotype and underlying liver disease status. There were no differences in SVR12 with 12 or 24 weeks therapy. No major adverse event occurred requiring treatment stoppage. Generic oral DAAs are associated with high SVR rates in patients with HCV infection in a real-life clinical scenario.

Chronic Hepatitis C: Do Generics Work as Well as Branded Drugs?

India has a large share of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) burden of the world. Unsafe medical practices and blood transfusions are the leading modes of transmission of HCV in India. The commonest HCV genotype in India is genotype 3 followed by genotype 1. While directly acting antivirals (DAAs) agents have become available at reasonable rates in India, cost of therapy remains a major barrier for control of HCV in India. Generic DAAs have been proven to be cost-saving in prior studies. We examined data from various studies in India and elsewhere using generic DAAs, and evaluated whether they are equally efficacious as the branded drugs. Since the availability of generic DAAs in the Indian market, there is a lot of real life data as well as prospective studies in special patient populations such as hematological disorders (thalassemia and hemophilia), chronic kidney disease, hemodialysis patients, post liver and renal transplant patients on immunosuppression, intravenous drug users, confections and other high risk groups. Control of HCV infection in India requires multi pronged approach. There is a need to formulate a health educational curriculum targeting not only the high-risk population but also the general population regarding the transmission of HCV. Adopting the dual approach of treating the old cases (decreasing the reservoir pool of HCV) and decreasing the incidence of new ones would help curtail the disease and decrease liver related mortality. In this scenario, the role of efficacious low cost generic medications is essential.