Hepatitis C News

Patients who received a hepatitis C virus-positive donor heart experienced similar posttransplant survival, drug-treated rejection, postoperative dialysis and stroke incidence to patients whose transplant heart was from a HCV-negative donor.

Researchers found high rates of sexually transmitted hepatitis C among HIV-negative men who have sex with men who used pre-exposure prophylaxis, especially among drug users, according to data published in Journal of Hepatology.

In 2018, infections were the cause of 13% of all new cancer diagnoses, totaling 2.2 million new cases worldwide, although these totals do not include nonmelanoma skin cancers, according to findings published in The Lancet Global Health.

Georgia’s hepatitis C virus elimination program made significant progress in helping diagnose patients and begin treatment, according to a study published in the Journal of Hepatology.

The donor pool for heart transplants can potentially be expanded now that the infection from donor-derived hepatitis C is curable and well tolerated, according to a study published in JAMA Cardiology.

Data from a large, real-world study contributed to the growing safety and efficacy evidence of transplanting hepatitis C-infected organs into aviremic patients in the direct-acting antiviral era.

Patients with current or prior hepatitis C infection were willing to engage in alcohol intervention including counseling and referral to treatment when encouraged by liver medical providers, according to data published in Hepatology.

According to study results published in JAMA, during a nearly 6-year period, only 30% of 13- to 21-year-olds with identified opioid, cocaine or amphetamine use who accessed U.S. federally qualified health centers in 19 states were tested for hepatitis C virus, suggesting a need to improve screening.

Patients who failed to achieve sustained virologic response after initial treatment for hepatitis C achieved high cure rates during retreatment after switching from an NS5A inhibitor direct-acting antiviral to a protease inhibitor.

ORLANDO — African Americans with lymphoma and hepatitis C virus should be treated for both disease states to improve response to lymphoma treatment, with most improved results seen in patients with aggressive lymphoma, according to a poster presenter at the ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition.