Abstract
Background:
Single nucleotide polymorphism in the interleukin28B (IL28B) gene was recently shown to be associated with a significant increase in response to interferon-? and ribavirin treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Similarly, thyroid disease (TD) occurring during treatment confer an improved sustained virologic response (SVR).Objectives:
To determine the role of IL28B genotypes in a cohort of hepatitis C patients who develop TD during treatment and its relationship to SVR.Patients and Methods:
IL28B gene profiles including rs12979860, rs12980275 and rs 8099917 and their genotypes were determined in a cohort of 23 hepatitis C patients who developed TD during treatment and their relationship to SVR.Results:
Out of 23 studies cases, 19 has one or more favorable genotypes, of which 15 (78.9%) achieved SVR. Eleven has all three unfavorable genotypes and yet achieved 72.7 % SVR. The presence of more than one favorable genotype only correctly predicts SVR vs. non- SVR in ~50 % of cases, i.e. by chance.Conclusions:
Despite the small number of subjects, the presence of one or more unfavorable IL28B genotype does not portend a poor SVR prognostic outcome. This suggests that TD in this clinical context may be a critical factor in the achievement of SVR, probably above that of the genetic predisposition.Keywords
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© 2012, Author(s). This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.