International Liver Congress – 2016

aidsmap news from ILC 2016

• Does having HIV affect response to hepatitis C treatment?

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Liz Highleyman | 16 May 2016

  A study from the US Veterans Health Administration found that HIV-positive people responded as well as those without HIV to direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for hepatitis C, while a Spanish study showed that ...

• WHO issues new hepatitis C guidelines, EASL guidelines update forthcoming in September

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Liz Highleyman | 12 May 2016

  In April, coinciding with the 2016 International Liver Congress in Barcelona, the World Health Organization (WHO) released an update to its Guidelines for the screening, care and treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis ...

• Hepatitis C therapy improves quality of life for people who inject drugs, but reinfection risk remains

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Keith Alcorn | 06 May 2016

  People on opiate substitution therapy can be successfully treated with grazoprevir/elbasvir (Zepatier), leading to improvements in some aspects of quality of life, according to findings from the C-EDGE CO-STAR study presented at ...

• People treated for hepatitis C have unexpectedly high rate of liver cancer recurrence

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Liz Highleyman | 29 April 2016

  Hepatitis C patients with cirrhosis who were treated with direct-acting antivirals had about twice the expected likelihood of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with the excess risk seen in people with a previous history ...

• Portugal's roll-out of HCV therapy with DAAs achieves impressive results

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Michael Carter | 27 April 2016

  Roll-out of hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy using direct acting antivirals (DAAs) has achieved excellent outcomes in Portugal, data presented to the International Liver Congress in Barcelona shows. Overall, 96% of patients had ...

• DAAs achieve excellent outcomes in real-world settings

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Michael Carter | 21 April 2016

  Hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy with direct acting antivirals (DAAs) is as effective in real-world settings as it was in clinical trials, according to US research presented to the International Liver Congress in ...

• High incidence of HCV reinfection among HIV-positive MSM in Western Europe

  Hepatitis C transmission and prevention
  Michael Carter | 19 April 2016

  There is a very high incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) reinfection among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) in western Europe, according to research presented to the International Liver Congress ...

• Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir cures HCV in 95% of people with HCV and HIV co-infection

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Liz Highleyman | 19 April 2016

  A dual regimen of sofosbuvir plus velpatasvir was well tolerated and highly effective against hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1 through 4 in HIV-positive people with chronic hepatitis C co-infection, according to results ...

• Six weeks of sofosbuvir/ledipasvir is enough to cure acute hepatitis C in HIV-negative people

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Liz Highleyman | 18 April 2016

  A regimen of sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (Harvoni) taken for six weeks cured all patients with genotype 1 acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, including those with high viral loads, according to findings from a ...

• Tenofovir alafenamide works well against hepatitis B with less effect on bones and kidneys

  Hepatitis B
  Liz Highleyman | 18 April 2016

  The new tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) pro-drug is as potent against hepatitis B virus (HBV) as the current tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) formulation, but with fewer detrimental effects on bone and kidney biomarkers, ...

• Low-cost generic hepatitis C drugs match branded products in viral response

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Keith Alcorn | 16 April 2016

  Generic versions of direct-acting antivirals purchased from China and India by people unable to obtain treatment in their own countries were just as effective and safe as the branded products, a study ...

• Shifting hepatitis C treatment to primary care providers could expand availability

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Liz Highleyman | 15 April 2016

  Hepatitis C treatment managed by non-specialists such as primary care physicians and nurse practitioners is as safe and effective as treatment delivered by specialists and could help increase the number of people receiving ...

• Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir + GS-9857 works well for treatment-experienced hepatitis C patients

  New and experimental hepatitis C treatment
  Liz Highleyman | 15 April 2016

  A triple combination of Gilead Sciences' sofosbuvir, velpatasvir and GS-9857 demonstrated a high sustained response rate for treatment-experienced people with all hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes who previously were not cured with prior ...

• Hepatitis C treatment may not be enough to stop the progress of advanced liver disease, or reduce liver transplant need

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Keith Alcorn | 14 April 2016

  Doctors need to have “full and frank” discussions with patients about the potential risks and benefits of using direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) to treat hepatitis C in late-stage liver disease, especially among those waiting ...

• $300 hepatitis C combination to enter clinical trials

  Hepatitis C treatment
  Keith Alcorn | 13 April 2016

  The Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDI) is launching clinical trials in Thailand and Malaysia to test a combination of sofosbuvir and ravidasvir, an NS5A inhibitor, in at least 800 people with ...