EASL 2015: People with Hepatitis C Have Higher Cancer Rates, Even When Excluding Liver Cancer

Hepatitis C patients in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California health maintenance organization had significantly increased cancer rates compared to members without HCV infection, and this remained the case even after accounting for liver cancer, which showed the greatest excess risk, researchers reported at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 50th International Liver Congress last month in Vienna.

EASL 2015: Another Study Confirms Detrimental Effects of Delaying Hepatitis C Treatment

Deferring antiviral therapy for hepatitis C until a person progresses to advanced liver disease has clear drawbacks including lower treatment effectiveness and an increased risk of clinical events and death, according to a study of U.S. veterans presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 50th International Liver Congress last week in Vienna.

Coverage of the 2015 EASL International Liver Congress

HIVandHepatitis.com coverage of the 50th European Association for the Study of the Liver International Liver Congress (EASL 2015) in Vienna, April 22-26, 2015.

Conference highlights include interferon-free hepatitis C treatment for people with advanced disease, experimental HCV antivirals, hepatitis B and delta, and management of liver disease complications.

Full listing by topic

International Liver Congress website

5/5/15

EASL 2015: Grazoprevir/ Elbasvir Combo Cures 99% of Hepatitis C Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Merck's once-daily combination of grazoprevir and elbasvir cured hepatitis C in almost all people with advanced chronic kidney disease, researchers reported at theEuropean Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 50th International Liver Congress last week in Vienna. The findings from the C-SURFER study are the first evidence that people with chronic kidney disease stand a very high chance of being cured using an interferon-free regimen, and will offer hope to a group of people with hepatitis C until now left behind by recent advances in antiviral treatment.

EASL 2015: Paritaprevir and Ombitasvir Are Effective for Japanese Patients with HCV Genotype 1b

AbbVie's paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir coformulation (Viekirax in Europe; part of the Viekira Pak regimen in the U.S.) was highly effective in curing hepatitis C without the accompaniment of dasabuvir (Exviera) in Japanese people with genotype 1b hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the GIFT-1 trial, researchers reported at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 50th International Liver Congress last week in Vienna.

EASL 2015: Sofosbuvir-based Treatment Is Safe and Effective in Patients with Advanced Kidney Disease

Direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C that includes sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) can be used safely and effectively by people with very advanced kidney disease, including patients on dialysis, according to the findings of the HCV-TARGET international cohort study presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 50th International Liver Congress last week in Vienna.

EASL 2015: Heavy Alcohol Use Is Strongest Predictor of Liver Damage and Death in French Hepatitis C Patients

People with hepatitis C have a much greater risk of liver-related hospitalization or death if they have an alcohol use disorder or another serious comorbidity such as HIV infection, chronic kidney disease, or cancer, according to an analysis of everyone hospitalized in France between 2008 and 2012 presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 50th International Liver Congress last week in Vienna. In the absence of these problems, however, people with hepatitis C did not have an increased risk of death compared to the general population.

EASL 2015: Patients Who Fail Short Course of Sofosbuvir/Ledipasvir Can Be Cured with 24 Weeks

More than 70% of genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C patients who did not achieve sustained virological response when treated with sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (Harvoni) for 8 or 12 weeks were cured with a subsequent 24-week course of the same 2 drugs, according to a study presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) 50th International Liver Congress last week in Vienna.