Hepatitis C News

ATLANTA — Less than a quarter of patients in a national rheumatology registry were screened for hepatitis B or C prior to initiating biologics or a new synthetic DMARDs, despite their potential increased risk for viral hepatitis reactivation, according to data presented at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting.

BOSTON — New incidences of hepatitis C virus infection among men who have sex with men, or MSM, who are actively using pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention appeared to be less common than previously shown, according to data presented at The Liver Meeting 2019.

BOSTON — In this exclusive video from The Liver Meeting 2019, Robert S. Brown Jr., MD, MPH, of Weill Cornell Medical College, discusses the results of the EXPEDITION-8 trial, which demonstrated that treatment with Mavyret over 8 weeks was effective and had a favorable safety profile in patients with treatment-naive chronic hepatitis C virus genotypes 1-6 and compensated cirrhosis.

BOSTON — Hepatitis C infection was prevented or rapidly cured in transplant recipients who received organs from donors infected with the virus following combined treatment with ezetimibe and direct-acting antiviral therapy, according to study results presented at The Liver Meeting 2019.

Albumin levels and liver stiffness measurements taken during direct-acting antiviral therapy follow-up can stratify liver cancer risk among patients with hepatitis C and compensated advanced chronic liver disease, according to study results.

Researchers discovered potential for a simplified monitoring schedule compared with standard monitoring among certain patients treated direct-acting antivirals for chronic hepatitis C, according to data published in Journal of Hepatology.

SAN ANTONIO — Researchers observed sex-specific and ethnicity-specific disparities in successful linkage to care for chronic hepatitis C, including poor health literacy, lack of insurance, and fear of stigma that ultimately lowers screening and treatment rates, according to data presented at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Meeting.

SAN ANTONIO — The National Liver Congress will convene October 25th, providing a broad scientific program and exhibit of products and services important for all practitioners involved in the care of patients with liver disease.

SAN ANTONIO — Starting this weekend, Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease will provide live coverage as the exclusive media partner of the American College of Gastroenterology’s 84th Annual Scientific Meeting.

Patients who developed hepatitis C-related hepatocellular carcinoma after achieving sustained virologic response with interferon-free direct-acting antivirals had a 60% to 70% improvement in 5-year survival compared with untreated patients.