Background: The efficacy and safety of asunaprevir + daclatasvir combination therapy for treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in compensated cirrhotic patients was not fully evaluated in real-world. Outcomes were assessed in cirrhotic patients with sustained viral response (SVR).
Material and methods: A total of 145 patients without resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) at L31 and Y93 in the nonstructural protein 5A of HCV genotype 1b, consisting of 49 hepatic cirrhotic and 96 non-cirrhotic patients, were enrolled to the therapy. The patients were treated with 100 mg asunaprevir twice daily plus 60 mg daclatasvir once daily for 24 weeks. The primary endpoint was SVR 24 weeks after completing treatment. In addition, we evaluated the improvement of liver function and development of HCC for 1 year from the end of treatment (EOT).
Results: The SVR24 rate was 96% (47/49) in the cirrhotic group and 96% (91/95) in the non-cirrhotic group (p = 0.69). During treatment, grade III/IV adverse events occurred more frequently in cirrhotic patients (10/49; 20.4%) than in non-cirrhotic patients (10/96; 10.4%) (p = 0.099). After EOT, alanine aminotransferase and AFP levels were significantly decreased in cirrhotic patients with SVR. In addition, serum levels of albumin and platelet counts were significantly increased. On the other hand, the rates of HCC recurrence (43%) and development (7.4%) were higher in cirrhotic patients than in the non-cirrhotic patients (12.5% and 1.1%, respectively).
Conclusion: RAS-oriented asunaprevir/daclatasvir therapy has a strong anti-HCV effect in patients with HCV genotype 1b. However, careful management is necessary in patients with cirrhosis.
Keywords: Adverse events; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Resistance-associated substitution; Sustained viral response..