title: Early changes in dynamic biomarkers of liver fibrosis in hepatitis C virus-infected patients treated with sofosbuvir.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic hepatitis C is a major cause of liver-associated mortality caused by decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. With the approval of sofosbuvir, therapeutic efficacy has markedly increased. Early changes in non-invasive biomarkers of liver fibrosis under effective antiviral therapy are widely unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate early changes of fibrosis markers determined by enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) scores and liver stiffness measurement (FibroScan(®)) in patients treated with sofosbuvir.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 32 hepatitis C patients treated prospectively with sofosbuvir were included. The ELF-panel and FibroScan measurements were performed at baseline, week 4, end-of-treatment and 12 weeks thereafter.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Antiviral therapy resulted in a biochemical and virological response within 4 weeks. Sustained virological response rate at 12-week follow-up (SVR12) was 93.8%; there was a significantly decrease from baseline to 12-week post-treatment follow-up in ELF (10.00 vs. 9.37; p=0.007) and FibroScan (8.0 vs. 6.8 kPa; p=0.016) measurements, indicating improvement of the dynamics of liver fibrosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We observed a rapid decrease in non-invasive fibrosis markers measured by ELF-scores and FibroScan in hepatitis C-infected patients receiving sofosbuvir treatment. These initial results need to be histologically confirmed by liver biopsy in the future.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, Cirrhosis Center Mainz (CCM), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bernuth
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Diagnostics Center, RWTH-University Hospital Aachen, Aachen and Medical Care Center, Dr. Stein and Colleagues, Mönchengladbach, Germany.
authors.forename: Eray
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yagmur
authors.affiliation: Institute of Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Detlef
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schuppan
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, Cirrhosis Center Mainz (CCM), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Sprinzl
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, University Medical Center Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Anca
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schad
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, Cirrhosis Center Mainz (CCM), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kittner
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Weyer
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, Cirrhosis Center Mainz (CCM), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Knapstein
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, Cirrhosis Center Mainz (CCM), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörn M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schattenberg
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, Cirrhosis Center Mainz (CCM), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcus A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wörns
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, Cirrhosis Center Mainz (CCM), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Galle
authors.affiliation: First Department of Medicine, Cirrhosis Center Mainz (CCM), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: tim.zimmermann@unimedizin-mainz.de.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood*; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000069474:Sofosbuvir / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012367:RNA, Viral; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000069474:Sofosbuvir
keywords: ELF; FibroScan; Liver fibrosis; Liver stiffness measurement; Non-invasive serum markers