Porphyria cutanea tarda as a predictor of poor response to interferon alfa therapy in chronic hepatitis C.
BACKGROUND
Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is sometimes associated with hepatitis C virus chronic infection. The aim of this study was to describe the effect of interferon alfa (IFN-alpha) in the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C and PCT.


METHODS
We treated a total of 66 patients with chronic hepatitis C with IFN-alpha 2b (5 MU t.i.w.) for 12 months. Twenty-two of these patients suffered from PCT as well. These patients differed from patients without PCT in that they were men, past history of alcohol abuse and HFE gene mutations were more common and the source of infection was almost always unknown.


RESULTS
Sustained virologic response was obtained in 19.7% of the 66 treated patients, 27.3% in the non-PCT group and 4.5% in the PCT group (P < 0.05). This difference could not be ascribed to the difference in sex of patients, history of alcohol abuse, HCV genotype or iron status.


CONCLUSIONS
Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that PCT is independently and significantly associated with non-sustained response to IFNalpha therapy. In conclusion, patients with chronic hepatitis C and PCT rarely responded to IFNalpha treatment.
Dept. of Gastroenterology, Unit for the Study of Porphyrias, Pathology and Clinical Epidemiology, Hospital Universitario '12 de Octubre', Madrid, Spain.
I
I
Fernández
G
G
Castellano
R E
RE
de Salamanca
F
F
Colina
A
A
Gómez de la Cámara
M J
MJ
Morán
R
R
Muñoz
J A
JA
Solís-Herruzo
D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D024882:Drug Resistance, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000139:chemically induced; D017119:Porphyria Cutanea Tarda / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019562:Viral Load
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D007370:Interferon Type I; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000410:Alanine Transaminase