Daclatasvir plus asunaprevir for the treatment of patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 1b infection: Real-world efficacy, changes in liver stiffness and fibrosis markers, and safety

Background/Aims: The treatment with daclatasvir plus asunaprevir (DCV+ASV) is associated with potent antiviral effects in patients with genotype 1b hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We investigated the real-world efficacy, changes in liver stiffness and noninvasive fibrosis markers, and the safety of DCV+ASV treatment in Korean patients. Methods: In total, 363 patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated with DCV+ASV between August 2015 and January 2017. Finally, we analyzed the data of 270 patients who were monitored for at least 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Results: The mean age was 60.7 years, and females predominated (60.4%). Most patients (64.8%) were treatment-naïve, and 56 patients (20.7%) had cirrhosis. Two hundred fifty-seven (95.2%) and 251 (93.0%) patients achieved end-of-treatment responses and sustained virological responses at 12 weeks posttreatment (SVR12), respectively. The SVR12 rates were higher in patients who were <65 years of age, males, without cirrhosis and had lower HCV RNA levels. All LS values and fibrosis-4 and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index values declined from baseline to the time of assessment of SVR12. Conclusions: The DCV+ASV therapy resulted in a high SVR12 and improved liver fibrosis; the treatment was well tolerated in patients with genotype 1b HCV infections.