O Anagnostou1, S Manolakopoulos2, G Bakoyannis1, G Papatheodoridis2, A Zisouli3, M Raptopoulou-Gigi4, E Manesis5, I Ketikoglou6, G Dalekos7, C Gogos8, T Vassiliadis9, D Tzourmakliotis10, S Karatapanis11, S Kanatakis12, - Zoumpoulis13, A Hounta14, S Koutsounas15, G Giannoulis16, N Tassopoulos17, G Touloumi1. 1. Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology & Medical Statistics, Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece. 2. 2 Academic Department of Medicine, Hippokration General Hospital, Athens, Greece. 3. Office of Viral Hepatitis, Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Athens, Greece. 4. 2nd Medical Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. 5. Division of Internal Medicine, Athens University Medical School, Athens, Greece. 6. State Department of Internal Medicine, Hippokration General Hospital, Athens, Greece. 7. Department of Medicine and Research Laboratory of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece. 8. 1 Department of Internal Medicine, University of Patras, Medical School, Rio, Greece. 9. 1 Propaedeutic Clinic of Internal Medicine, AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. 10. Department of Gastroenterology, Polyclinic General Hospital, Athens, Greece. 11. Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Rhodos, Rhodos, Greece. 12. 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Red Cross Hospital, Athens, Greece. 13. 1 Department of Propaedeutic Medicine, Athens University Medical School, ''Laiko'' Hospital, Athens, Greece. 14. 4 Department of Internal Medicine, General University Hospital "Attikon", Athens, Greece. 15. Hepatology Service, Foundation of Social Insurance (IKA), Athens, Greece. 16. 2 Department of Internal Medicine, Tzaneio Hospital, Athens, Greece. 17. 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Western Attica General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Patients with genotype 4 (G4) chronic hepatitis C (CHC) are considered a difficult to treat population, although current data on G4 treatment responsiveness and duration are controversial. Greece represents a country with an intermediate prevalence of G4 infections, offering an opportunity to compare treatment outcomes by genotype and to identify potential prognostic factors for sustained virologic response (SVR). METHODS: All CHC patients from the HepNet.Greece, an ongoing nationwide cohort study on viral hepatitis, with known hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype who received treatment with Peg-IFNa and ribavirin were analyzed. RESULTS: From 4443 patients, 951 (61.7% males, 78.4% Greeks, median age 40.6 years, 10% cirrhosis) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. G4 was found in 125 (13.1%) patients. Genotype distribution was not significantly different between Greeks and immigrants. Patients with G4 had similar odds of SVR compared to G1 but significantly lower compared to G2/G3. Age, treatment discontinuation, presence of cirrhosis and previous history of HCV-treatment were associated with lower probabilities of SVR. Ethnicity did not affect SVR for all genotypes while response to treatment was similar between Greek and Egyptian patients groups (35.7% vs 40.9%, p=0.660%) with G4 infection. The relation between SVR and genotype did not substantially change after adjustment for age, gender, cirrhosis, treatment interruption and history of HCV-treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this large cohort of CHC patients with a well balanced genotype distribution further supports the idea of considering G4 as a difficult to treat genotype. Further investigation is needed to identify genotype specific prognostic factors.
BACKGROUND AND AIM: Patients with genotype 4 (G4) chronic hepatitis C (CHC) are considered a difficult to treat population, although current data on G4 treatment responsiveness and duration are controversial. Greece represents a country with an intermediate prevalence of G4 infections, offering an opportunity to compare treatment outcomes by genotype and to identify potential prognostic factors for sustained virologic response (SVR). METHODS: All CHCpatients from the HepNet.Greece, an ongoing nationwide cohort study on viral hepatitis, with known hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype who received treatment with Peg-IFNa and ribavirin were analyzed. RESULTS: From 4443 patients, 951 (61.7% males, 78.4% Greeks, median age 40.6 years, 10% cirrhosis) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. G4 was found in 125 (13.1%) patients. Genotype distribution was not significantly different between Greeks and immigrants. Patients with G4 had similar odds of SVR compared to G1 but significantly lower compared to G2/G3. Age, treatment discontinuation, presence of cirrhosis and previous history of HCV-treatment were associated with lower probabilities of SVR. Ethnicity did not affect SVR for all genotypes while response to treatment was similar between Greek and Egyptian patients groups (35.7% vs 40.9%, p=0.660%) with G4 infection. The relation between SVR and genotype did not substantially change after adjustment for age, gender, cirrhosis, treatment interruption and history of HCV-treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this large cohort of CHCpatients with a well balanced genotype distribution further supports the idea of considering G4 as a difficult to treat genotype. Further investigation is needed to identify genotype specific prognostic factors.
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