Pre-treatment prediction of response to peginterferon plus ribavirin in chronic hepatitis C genotype 3

Table 1 Characteristics of the study population n (%)

Characteristic	Patients
	(n = 107)
Age, yr (mean ± SD)1	47.5 (± 8.8)
Gender
Male	68.2 (73)
Female	31.8 (34)
INFL3 polymorphism2
CT	56.2 (36)
CC	28.1 (18)
TT	15.7 (10)
Pre treatment HCV-RNA3
< 600000 UI/mL	44.7 (46)
≥ 6000000 UI/mL	55.3 (57)
Pre treatment elevated ALT4	88.5 (92)
Fibrosis5
Mild to moderate6	59.8 (61)
Advanced7	40.2 (41)
Steatosis	47.6 (51)
BMI (kg/m2) > 27	54.2 (58)
Diabetes	5.6 (6)
Type of peginterferon
alfa 2a	75.7 (81)
alfa 2b	24.3 (26)
RBV dose
Fix8	63.6 (68)
Weight-Based9	36.4 (39)
80/80/80 adherence10	94.4 (101)

¹Available for 105 patients;

²Available for 64 patients;

³Available for 103 patients;

⁴Available for 104 patients;

⁵Available for 102 patients;

⁶Mild to moderate fibrosis includes patients without fibrosis and patients with up to METAVIR F2 fibrosis;

⁷Advanced fibrosis includes patients with METAFIR F3 and cirrhosis;

⁸800 mg/d;

⁹1000 mg/d in patients ≤ 75 kg weight, 1200 mg/d in patients > 75 kg weight;

¹⁰Patients received at least 80% of the peginterferon and RBV doses, and completed at least 80% of the expected treatment duration. ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; RBV: Ribavirin; BMI: Body mass index.

Table 2 Association between pre-treatment characteristics and sustained virological response - univariate analyses n (%)

	SVR (n = 62)	No-SVR (n = 45)	OR	95%CI	P
Age, yr (mean ± SD)1	47.8 (± 9.1)	47.1 (± 8.3)	1	0.965-1.055	0.696
Male	61.3 (38)	77.8 (35)	0.425	0.190-1.079	0.093
INFL3 polymorphism CC2	31.4 (11)	24.1 (7)	1.44	0.475-4.372	0.585
3HCV-RNA ≥ 600000 UI/mL	44.1 (26)	70.5 (31)	0.33	0.145-0.755	0.009
Pre treatment elevated ALT4	86.7 (52)	90.9 (40)	0.65	0.183-2.312	0.553
Advanced fibrosis56	26.7 (16)	59.5 (25)	0.247	0.107-0.573	0.001
Steatosis	46.8 (29)	48.9 (22)	0.919	0.426-1.981	0.847
BMI (kg/m2) > 27	46.8 (29)	64.4 (29)	0.422	0.149-0.892	0.033
Diabetes	2 (1)	11 (5)	0.131	0.015-1.165	0.08
Peginterferon alfa 2a	75.8 (47)	75.6 (34)	0.986	0.403-2.413	1
RBV fix-dose7	64.5 (40)	62.2 (28)	1.104	0.498-2.447	0.841
80/80/80 adherence8	95.2 (59)	93.3 (42)	0.75	0.113-2.552	0.919

¹Available for 105 patients;

²Available for 64 patients;

³Available for 103 patients;

⁴Available for 104 patients;

⁵Advanced fibrosis includes patients with METAFIR F3 and cirrhosis;

⁶Available for 102 patients;

⁷800 mg/d;

⁸Patients received at least 80% of the peginterferon and RBV doses, and completed at least 80% of the expected treatment duration. ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; RBV: Ribavirin; BMI: Body mass index; SVR: Sustained virological response.

Table 3 Probability of sustained virological response according to fibrosis grade and pre-treatment hepatitis C virus-RNA

HCV-RNA≥600000 UI/mL	Advanced fibrosis1	Probability (%)	95%CI
No	No	81.1	68.8-93.4
Yes	No	62.2	46.6-77.8
No	Yes	51.8	31.3-72.3
Yes	Yes	29.2	13.1-45.2

¹Advanced fibrosis includes patients with METAFIR F3 and cirrhosis. HCV: Hepatitis C virus.