Hepatitis C News

Researchers from the University of Cairo analyzed the rates of sustained virologic response among patients with hepatitis C in Egypt since the introduction of direct-acting antivirals to share data on the planning and prioritization of treatment in a nation with limited resources and high prevalence of HCV.

Direct-acting antiviral treatment for hepatitis C did not correlate with an increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma in a large cohort study of both treated and untreated patients with or without cirrhosis. Those with incident HCC after DAA treatment had higher risk factors at baseline.

Utilizing hepatitis C antibody-positive but nucleic acid test-negative liver donors for HCV-negative liver transplant recipients opens up liver transplant options, allowing for the use of livers available due to drug overdose, according to experts.

Treatment with Epclusa for 12 weeks resulted in high sustained virologic response rates among patients with hepatitis C genotypes 1 through 6, irrespective of baseline NS5A resistance-associated substitutions, according to recently published data.

State Medicaid programs that relaxed their treatment eligibility requirements for patients with hepatitis C virus demonstrated significantly increased treatment use from 2014 to 2016 compared with states that did not, a recently published analysis found.

Recently published data suggest that higher hepatocellular carcinoma incidence after sustained virologic response with interferon-free hepatitis C treatment correlates to patient baseline risk factors, such as age, Child-Turcotte Pugh score and prior treatment, rather than IFN-free therapy.

Collaboration between local specialty pharmacies, providers and patients minimized time to therapy, lowered rates of direct-acting antiviral denial, facilitated patient financial assistance and helped optimize clinical outcomes, according to a recently published study.

In April, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care recommended against hepatitis C screening among patients with a low risk for infection.

Hepatitis C testing among baby boomers increased more than 50% in New York following the implementation of a testing law in 2014 that required health care providers to offer HCV screening to all patients born between 1945 to 1965, according to an MMWR.

As the rate of infection with hepatitis C virus soars in the United States, clinicians are thinking beyond high-risk patients and considering universal screening in the general population to get more people into care.