Hepatitis C Virus Treatment Update

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a worldwide public health problem where anti-HCV prevalence had an estimated 2.8% increase over the last decade, corresponding to more than 185 million infections (3% of the world’s population). Treatment of chronic HCV was based on interferon-α for more than 20 years. Over the last years, the treatment of chronic hepatitis C was evolving rapidly with the development of Interferon-free regimens with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs). These regimens induce higher rates of sustained virological response (SVR) and show a favorable safety profile compared with IFN-based treatments. The objective of chronic hepatitis C treatment is to achieve SVR which is defined as the absence of viral replication at 12 or 24 weeks after treatment completion. SVR reduces morbidity and mortality and is equivalent in most cases to cure the HCV infection. When considering a patient for HCV therapy, three important pieces of information are needed to guide the treatment plan for all patients: genotype, prior treatment history, and stage of liver disease