Home Gastroenterology Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapies Beneficial in HCV-MCS

Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapies Beneficial in HCV-MCS

High sustained virologic response at 12 weeks in hep C virus-linked mixed cryoglobulinemia syndrome

TUESDAY, Oct. 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies are associated with high sustained virologic response rates in hepatitis C virus-associated mixed cryoglobulinemia syndrome (HCV-MCS), according to a study published online Oct. 17 in Hepatology.

Meghan E. Sise, M.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues examined the efficacy and safety of all-oral DAA therapy in HCV-MCS. Data were included for 12 patients with HCV-MCS who received DAA therapy between December 2013 and September 2014 and historical controls treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

The researchers found that four of the patients received concurrent rituximab with DAA therapy. At 12 weeks, the sustained virologic response rate (SVR12) was 83 percent overall. An improvement in serum creatinine and reduction in proteinuria was seen among patients with glomerulonephritis who achieved SVR12. In 89 percent of patients, cryoglobulin levels decreased, with the median decreasing from 1.5 to 0.5 percent; in four of nine patients who had cryoglobulins measured after treatment, levels completely disappeared. Serious adverse events occurred in 17 percent of patients. In the historical cohort, 10 percent experienced SVR12, with 100 percent experiencing one or more adverse events and with premature discontinuation because of adverse events in 50 percent.

“SVR12 rates for sofosbuvir-based direct-acting antiviral regimens in HCV-MCS were 83 percent, significantly higher than historical controls treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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