Antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C: many years of real clinical experience

Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have significantly changed the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and the prognosis for patients since their introduction into clinical practice in 2014–2015. Objective. Study of the evolution and efficacy of antiviral therapy (AVT) for CHC based on the results of providing medical care to patients in Moscow in 2002–2020. Patients and methods. The study was conducted in the Center for the Treatment of Chronic Viral Hepatitis “Infectious Clinical Hospital No 1 of the Moscow City Health Department”. For quantitative variables, the mean and standard deviation were used, while for categorical variables, frequency and proportion were counted (%). Results. 69,745 patients were diagnosed with CHC among all the patients who were examined in the Center. The pooled SVR rate of various therapy regimens was as follows in the HCV genotype 1 (GT1) cohort: IFN + ribavirin – 41.7%; DAAs + PegIFN + ribavirin – 77.4%; IFN-free regimens – 94.0%. Age older than 40 years, diabetes mellitus (DM), history of AVT failure (retreatment), and liver cirrhosis (LC) adversely affected the achievement of SVR. In the patients with HCV GT2 and GT3, the IFN + ribavirin combination allowed SVR achievement in 68.5% of patients, while IFN-free regimens were effective in 95.2% of patients. The predictive factors for achieving SVR were similar to those in the GT1 subgroup, except that the effect of age and DM did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions. The efficacy of DAAs in real clinical practice significantly exceeds the efficacy of IFN-based regimens in patients with various HCV infection genotypes. Achievement of SVR as a result of AVT reduces the likelihood of LC and HCC development. Key words: viral hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, antiviral therapy, peginterferon, interferon-free, dual therapy, triple therapy