Clin Mol Hepatol.  2014 Jun;20(2):177-184. 10.3350/cmh.2014.20.2.177.

No association between the IL28B SNP and response to peginterferon plus ribavirin combination treatment in Korean chronic hepatitis C patients

• Heo NY
• Lim YS
• Lee W
• Oh M
• An J
• Lee D
• Shim JH
• Kim KM
• Lee HC
• Lee YS
• Suh DJ

• KMID: 1788567
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2014.20.2.177

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
There are few available data regarding the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the gene encoding interleukin 28B (IL28B) and a sustained virologic response (SVR) to peginterferon (PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) therapy in Korean chronic hepatitis C patients.
METHODS
This was a retrospective cohort study of 156 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who received combination treatment of PEG-IFN plus RBV. Blood samples from these patients were analyzed to identify the IL28B SNPs at rs12979860, rs12980275, rs8099917, and rs8103142. Association analyses were performed to evaluate the relationships between each IL28B SNP and SVRs.
RESULTS
Seventy six patients with HCV genotype 1 and 80 with genotype non-1 were enrolled. The frequencies of rs12979860 CC and CT genotypes were 90.4% and 9.6%, respectively; those of rs12980275 AA and AG genotypes were 87.2% and 12.8%, respectively; those of rs8099917 TT and TG genotypes were 92.3% and 7.7%, respectively; and those of rs8103142 TT and CT genotypes were 90.4% and 9.6%, respectively. Among the patients with HCV genotype 1, the SVR rates were 69.7% and 80.0% for rs12979860 CC and CT, respectively (P=0.71). Among the HCV genotype non-1 patients, SVR rates were 88.0% and 100% for rs12979860 CC and CT (P=1.00), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
Genotypes of the IL28B SNP that are known to be favorable were present in most of the Korean patients with chronic hepatitis C in this study. Moreover, the IL28B SNP did not influence the SVR rate in either the HCV genotype 1 or non-1 patients. Therefore, IL28B SNP analysis might be not useful for the initial assessment, prediction of treatment outcomes, or treatment decision-making of Korean chronic hepatitis C patients.

Keyword

Chronic Hepatitis C; Interleukin 28B; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Korean

MeSH Terms

Adult
Alleles
Antiviral Agents/*therapeutic use
Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*genetics
Cohort Studies
Drug Therapy, Combination
Female
Gene Frequency
Genotype
Hepatitis C, Chronic/drug therapy/*genetics
Humans
Interferon-alpha/therapeutic use
Interleukins/*genetics
Linkage Disequilibrium
Male
Middle Aged
Polyethylene Glycols/therapeutic use
*Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Recombinant Proteins/therapeutic use
Republic of Korea
Retrospective Studies
Ribavirin/therapeutic use
Antiviral Agents
Interferon-alpha
Interleukins
Polyethylene Glycols
Recombinant Proteins
Ribavirin