All-cause, liver-related mortality down with SVR for patients with chronic hepatitis C, hepatic fibrosis
FRIDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Sustained virological response (SVR) is associated with lower all-cause mortality in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and advanced hepatic fibrosis, according to a study published in the Dec. 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
To examine the correlation between SVR and mortality, Adriaan J. van der Meer, M.D., from the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues analyzed long-term follow-up data from 530 patients with chronic HCV infection started on an interferon-based treatment regimen (from 1990 to 2003) at five large tertiary care hospitals in Europe and Canada.
The researchers found that, over a median follow-up of 8.4 years, 192 patients (36 percent) achieved SVR. One hundred patients without SVR and 13 patients with SVR died. The 10-year cumulative all-cause mortality rate was significantly lower with SVR (8.9 versus 26.0 percent). SVR correlated with a significantly reduced risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.26) and of liver-related mortality or transplantation (HR, 0.06), which was observed in three patients with SVR and 103 without SVR. For liver-related mortality or transplantation, the 10-year cumulative incidence rate was significantly lower with SVR (1.9 versus 27.4 percent).
"In conclusion, our study indicates that SVR was associated with improved overall survival in patients with chronic HCV infection and advanced hepatic fibrosis," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Abstract
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