Open AccessClinical utility of hepatitis C virus core antigen assay in the monitoring of direct-acting antivirals for chronic hepatitis C
Author(s) -
Sheng-Feng Lin,
ShuiYi Tung,
KuoLiang Wei,
Chien–Hung Chen,
Tsung–Hui Hu,
Chien Heng Shen,
TeSheng Chang,
Wei-Ming Chen,
Chih-Wei Yen,
JingHoung Wang,
ChaoHung Hung,
ShengNan Lu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0229994
Subject(s) - ribavirin , medicine , hepatitis c virus , virology , dasabuvir , viral load , ombitasvir , hepatitis c , ritonavir , virus , antiretroviral therapy
Background Hepatitis C virus core antigen (HCV Ag) assay has been proposed as a more economical alternative to HCV RNA detection. This study aimed to investigate the clinical utility of HCV Ag assay in the monitoring of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for chronic hepatitis C patients. Methods We analyzed serum samples from 110 patients treated with paritaprevir/ritonavir, ombitasvir, and dasabuvir (PrOD) with or without ribavirin. The levels for both HCV Ag and HCV RNA assessed by COBAS TaqMan HCV (CTM) Test or Abbott RealTime HCV (ART) assay were evaluated at baseline, week 2, 4, and 12 during treatment and 12 weeks after completion. Results Baseline HCV Ag levels showed good correlations with HCV viral load (r = 0.879; p <0.001); whereas the correlation was slightly stronger with CTM test than with ART assay ( p = 0.074). The concordance of HCV Ag and HCV RNA undetectability was significantly better in CTM test than in ART assay at week 2 ( p = 0.003) and week 4 ( p = 0.003). A sustained viral response 12 weeks off therapy (SVR 12 ) was achieved in 108 patients (98%); the HCV Ag assay identified 99% of these patients. Both undetectability of serum HCV Ag and HCV RNA had high positive predictive value at week 2 (98% vs. 100%) and at week 4 (97% vs. 99%) in predicting SVR 12 . Conclusions HCV Ag assay may be a feasible alternative to HCV RNA for the determination of SVR 12 in patients treated with DAAs.