Impact of SVR to direct antivirals on liver stiffness in patients with chronic hepatitis C using Mac2 binding protein and PAPAS index compared to Fibro Scan

Abstract

nfection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is present in more than 184 million people worldwide and is responsible for the development of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, besides being the leading indication for liver transplantation in Western countries (Marcellin et al., 2018). Until 2014, interferon-based treatment was the standard of care for HCV therapy. This treatment was not free from complications, especially in patients with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis, in whom low rates of sustained virologic response (SVR) were observed (Fernandez-Rodriguez et al., 2010). However, the introduction of new direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) in the current treatment for HCV patients have changed this paradigm, achieving high SVR rates with minimal side effects, even in patients with cirrhosis (EASL, 2015).