Safety and efficacy of elbasvir and grazoprevir in Japanese hemodialysis patients with genotype 1b hepatitis C virus infection

Safety and efficacy of elbasvir and grazoprevir in Japanese hemodialysis patients with genotype 1b hepatitis C virus infection

Journal of Gastroenterology, July 2018

30019127

Goki Suda, Masayuki Kurosaki, Jun Itakura, Namiki Izumi, Yoshihito Uchida, Satoshi Mochida, Chitomi Hasebe, Masami Abe, Hiroaki Haga, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Ikuto Masakane, Kazumichi Abe, Atsushi Takahashi, Hiromasa Ohira, Ken Furuya, Masaru Baba, Yoshiya Yamamoto, Tomoe Kobayashi, Atsuhiko Kawakami, Kenichi Kumagai, Katsumi Terasita, Masatsugu Ohara, Naoki Kawagishi, Machiko Umemura, Masato Nakai, Takuya Sho, Mitsuteru Natsuizaka, Kenichi Morikawa, Koji Ogawa, Naoya Sakamoto

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in hemodialysis patients is high and results in a poor prognosis. Thus, safer and more effective treatment regimens are required. In this prospective multicenter study, we investigated the efficacy and safety of the novel HCV-NS5A-inhibitor, elbasvir, and protease inhibitor, grazoprevir in Japanese hemodialysis patients with genotype 1b HCV infection. This study is registered at the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry as UMIN00002578. A total of 23 Japanese dialysis patients with genotype 1b HCV infection who were treated with elbasvir and grazoprevir between January 2017 and March 2018 and followed for more than 12 weeks after treatment completion were included. We evaluated the sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after treatment completion (SVR12) and safety during treatment. Of the 23 patients, 7 had advanced liver fibrosis and 2 had a signature resistance-associated variant of NS5A (NS5A RAVs)-L31M/V or Y93H at baseline. All patients completed therapy, and 96.7% (22/23) of the patients achieved SVR12. All patients with advanced liver fibrosis and signature NS5A RAVs at baseline achieved SVR12 with a high safety profile. No patient experienced lethal or severe adverse events during therapy, and the most common adverse event was anemia. One patient, who was a non-responder to this therapy, had a history of failure with daclatasvir and asunaprevir therapies and had NS5A RAVs of A92K at baseline, but not signature NS5A RAVs. Grazoprevir and elbasvir combination is highly effective and safe for hemodialysis patients with genotype 1b HCV infection.