Treatment of HCV genotype 2 infection

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the main causes of chronic liver disease worldwide., AIMS: Retrospectively evaluate the results of therapy of patients with genotype 2 HCV treated during last 15 years at the Department of Infectious Diseases University Hospital Brno and Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno, Czech Republic., PATIENTS AND METHODS: 15 patients (9 men, 6 women, mean age 54.73 +/- 13.83 years, median 54 years) with chronic genotype 2 infection were treated at in our department during last 15 years. It is the biggest group of patients with this diagnosis treated in the Czech Republic. Proportion of genotype 2 subtypes was following: 1 times subtype 2a, 2 times subtype 2a/2c, 5 times subtype 2b, in the rest 7 cases only genotype 2 was determined without possibility to determinate subtype., RESULTS: 9 patients were treated with the combination of peginterferon alpha-2a (180 micro g once weekly subcutaneously) and ribavirin (1000 or 1200 mg daily according to the weight) for 24 weeks in the years 2002-2015, sustained virological response (SVR) achieved 6 of them (67 %). Two relapses and one breakthrough were recorded. 7 patients were treated with combination of sofosbuvir (400 mg daily) and ribavirin (1000 or 1200 mg daily according to the weight) for 12 weeks in the years 2015-2016 - 6 of them were treatment naive, one after breakthrough in previous therapy. All of these 7 patients achieved SVR (100 %)., CONCLUSIONS: Genotype 2 therapy still not represents serious therapeutic problem. The number of difficultly treatable patients is gradually increasing in many well-developed countries during last several years. However the therapeutic possibilities are quickly developing.Key words: chronic hepatitis C - genotype 2 - pegylated interferon - ribavirin - sofosbuvir.