Hepatitis C News

President Donald J. Trump has nominated Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, who has advocated for needle exchange programs, to be the next U.S. Surgeon General.

Following HBsAg seroclearance, women aged older than 50 years and men with chronic hepatitis B had significant risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma, whereas women aged 50 years or younger had no risk for HCC up to 5 years, according to results of a recently published study.

The European Association for the Study of the Liver responded with serious concern to a systematic review published by the Cochrane Group Review that stated, direct acting antivirals “do not seem to have any effects on risk of serious adverse events [but] we could neither confirm nor reject that DAAs had any clinical effects.”

AbbVie has received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for its ribavirin-free regimen Maviret for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C of all genotypes, according to a press release.

Gilead Sciences announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive opinion on the company’s Marketing Authorization Application for its direct-acting antiviral regimen sofosbuvir-velpatasvir-voxilaprevir, or Vosevi, according to a press release.

Sustained virologic response following interferon-based antiviral therapy in patients with hepatitis C reduced the risk for extrahepatic manifestations, according to results of a recently published study. The researchers suggested this means greater impact from direct-acting antiviral treatments.

The most significant risk factor for mortality in patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis and successfully treated hepatocellular carcinoma was hepatic decompensation within the first year of follow-up, according to a recently published study.

Direct-acting antiviral treatment in patients with hepatitis C and cirrhosis was most cost-effective and cost-saving pre-liver transplant among those with a MELD score of 21 or less, but post-liver transplant among those with a MELD score over 21, according to a recent study.

An electronic health record clinical decision support tool significantly increased hepatitis C virus screening, as well as follow-up testing and linkage to care among members of the baby boomer generation, according to recently published findings.

A recent report from the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University provides key recommendations for the potential elimination of hepatitis C in the U.S., based upon an expert consultation of 35 diverse stakeholders, including HCV medical and non-medical providers, patient advocates, epidemiologists, and federal HCV policy and program staff.