Source
Department of General Internal Medicine, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS:
Anemia is a common adverse effect of telaprevir (TVR) in combination with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) α and ribavirin (RBV) therapy. It occurs at a higher incidence with the TVR relative to PEG-IFNα and RBV alone. We herein evaluate the baseline and on-treatment predictors of the development of severe anemia by chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients receiving TVR-based triple therapy.
METHODS:
This prospective, multicenter study consisted of 292 patients (median age: 62 years) infected with HCV genotype 1. All received 12 weeks of TVR in combination with 24 weeks of PEG-IFNα2b and RBV. The definition of severe anemia during antiviral treatment is hemoglobin (Hb) <85 g/L.
RESULTS:
101 (34.6%) patients developed severe anemia during the treatment period. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of possible pretreatment predictors of the development of severe anemia extracted baseline Hb<135 g/L (Hazard ratio [HR], 2.53; P=0.0013), estimated glomerular filtration rate <80 mL/min/1.73m2 (HR, 1.83; P=0.0265), and inosine triphosphatase (ITPA) CC genotype (rs1127354) (HR, 2.91; P=0.0024). For patients with ITPA CC (n=227), multivariable logistic regression analysis of possible pretreatment and on-treatment predictors of the development of severe anemia extracted Hb level at week 2 (HR, 0.96; P=0.0085) and the initial four weeks of weight-adjusted TVR (HR, 1.05; P=0.0281).
CONCLUSIONS:
Anemia remains a risk for all patients treated with TVR-based triple therapy. However, ITPA polymorphism (rs1127354) is useful for predicting the development of severe anemia and will be helpful in the management of treatment.