Treat All - Are we nearing the end in the fight against hepatitis C?

Journal: Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Are we nearing the end in the fight against hepatitis C?
Joel V. Chua & Shyam Kottilil
Received 09 Jan 2017, Accepted 17 Mar 2017
Accepted author version posted online: 24 Mar 2017

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17474124.2017.1309287

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With a robust choice of DAA regimens available, even patients that were in the past considered hard to treat such cirrhotic patients, or those previously excluded from treatment due to chronic kidney disease, now have therapeutic options.  For example, elbasvir-grazoprevir is preferred to be used in HCV-infected patients with chronic kidney disease; while decompensated HCV cirrhotic patient are able to be treated with sofosbuvir-ledipasvir-ribavirin, or sofosbuvirvelpatasvir-ribavirin, or sofosbuvir-daclatasvir-ribavirin regimens.  In addition, highly effective and safe pangenotypic DAA regimens such as the once daily fixed dose combination sofosbuvirvelpatasvir, as well as daclatasvir plus sofosbuvir, increases the breath of those that can be treated and cured.  These advancement in drug therapy against HCV, coupled with increasing availability of generic DAAs [6] outside of the U.S. will increase access to these highly efficacious cure drugs worldwide.

Though having safe and highly effective drug regimens that can “virtually” cure all HCV infected individuals is an integral part of any hepatitis C eradication strategy, it still is just one component to achieving disease elimination..
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