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Sustained virological response to interferon reduces cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis C: a 1386‐patient study from Taiwan
Author(s) -
HUANG J.F.,
YU M.L.,
LEE C.M.,
DAI C.Y.,
HOU N.J.,
HSIEH M.Y.,
WANG J.H.,
LU S.N.,
SHEEN I.S.,
LIN S.M.,
CHUANG W.L.,
LIAW Y.F.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
alimentary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.308
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1365-2036
pISSN - 0269-2813
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2007.03297.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cirrhosis , gastroenterology , cumulative incidence , incidence (geometry) , hepatitis c , chronic hepatitis , immunology , virus , cohort , physics , optics
Summary Background The long‐term benefits of interferon‐based therapy on preventing cirrhosis at non‐cirrhotic stage in chronic hepatitis C patients are not fully clarified. Aim To evaluate the effectiveness of interferon‐based therapy regarding to cirrhosis prevention in non‐cirrhotic chronic hepatitis C patients. Methods A total of 1386 biopsy‐proven, non‐cirrhotic chronic hepatitis C patients (892 received interferon‐based therapy and 494 untreated) were enrolled. Results Fifty‐six untreated and 51 treated (24 sustained virologic responders and 27 non‐responders) patients developed cirrhosis during a mean follow‐up period of 5.0 (1–16) and 5.1 (1–15.3) years, respectively. The annual incidences of cirrhosis in untreated and treated groups were 2.26 and 1.11% (non‐responders: 1.99%, sustained responders: 0.74%), respectively. The 15‐year cumulative incidence of cirrhosis was significantly lower in treated (9.9%) than untreated patients (39.8%, P = 0.0008, log‐rank test). The 14.5‐year cumulative incidence of cirrhosis was significantly lower in sustained responders (4.8%) compared with non‐responders (21.6%, P = 0.0007) and untreated patients (36.6%, P < 0.0001). The difference was not significant between non‐responders and untreated controls. Cox proportional hazards regression showed sustained virologic responders and younger age were independent negative factors for cirrhosis development. Conclusion A sustained virologic response secondary to IFN‐based therapy could reduce cirrhosis development in chronic hepatitis C patients.