title: Genetic predictors of the response to the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection.
abstract: The genome-wide association studies have identified a strong association between interleukin 28B (IL28B) gene polymorphisms and the response to treatment in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between three most widely studied IL28B gene polymorphisms and the response to antiviral treatment of chronic hepatitis C. We performed the genotyping of the three IL28B gene polymorphisms: rs12979860, rs8099917, and rs12980275 in 72 Caucasian patients with chronic hepatitis C, previously treated with the combination therapy of pegylated interferon alpha (PEGIFN α) and ribavirin (RBV). The patients included in the study had finished the treatment regimen at least 6 months before enrolling in the study. We used the sustained viral response (SVR) for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the antiviral treatment, and it was tested with an assay with a sensitivity of 20 IU/mL. An SVR was achieved in 59.7% (43/72) of the treated patients. The three IL28B gene polymorphisms (CC genotype of rs12979860, TT genotype of rs8099917, and AA genotype of rs12980275) were associated with the SVR (p=0.029, p=0.016, and p=0.028, respectively) in the study patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with the combination therapy of PEGIFN α and RBV. The association of IL28B gene polymorphisms with the treatment response points to the possibility of personalized medicine for the treatment of HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Nephrology, Skopje, R. Macedonia. pavlinadzekova@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Pavlina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dzekova-Vidimliski
authors.forename: Igor G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Nikolov
authors.forename: Nadica
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matevska-Geshkovska
authors.forename: Yana
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Boyanova
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nikolova
authors.forename: Grigore
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Romanciuc
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dumitrascu
authors.forename: Viktorija
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Caloska-Ivanova
authors.forename: Nenad
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Joksimovic
authors.forename: Krasimir
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Antonov
authors.forename: Lyudmila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mateva
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rostaing
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dimovski
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sikole
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D005838:Genotype; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007372:Interferons; D007378:Interleukins / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014766:Viremia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology; D000095022:Interferon Lambda
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D007372:Interferons; D007378:Interleukins; D012254:Ribavirin; C000624353:interferon-lambda, human; D000095022:Interferon Lambda