Gut Liver.  2015 Mar;9(2):214-223. 10.5009/gnl14095.

Association between IPTA Gene Polymorphisms and Hematological Abnormalities in Hepatitis C Virus-Infected Patients Receiving Combination Therapy

• Hwang JJ
• Lo CC
• Lin CH
• Cheng HS
• Hung IW
• Tsai WJ
• Hung CH

• KMID: 2380767
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5009/gnl14095

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Hematological abnormalities during hepatitis C virus (HCV) combination therapy with pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin often necessitate dose reduction. Variants of the ITPA gene have been reported to protect against anemia during the early stages of HCV combination treatments but have also been associated with larger decreases in platelet counts. We aimed to identify the association between specific ITPA gene polymorphisms and hematological abnormalities in patients undergoing HCV combination therapy.
METHODS
In this retrospective study, 175 patients treated with HCV combination therapy were enrolled at St. Martin De Porres Hospital in Taiwan between 2006 and 2012. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) within or adjacent to the ITPA gene (rs1127354, rs6051702) were genotyped. We investigated the effect of ITPA gene variants on hematological abnormalities during the therapy.
RESULTS
The ITPA rs1127354 minor variants were significantly associated with protection against anemia at week 4 (p=1.86 x 10(-6)) and with more severe decreases in platelet counts during HCV combination therapy. SNP rs6051702 was not associated with the hemoglobin decline to >3 g/dL at week 4 in our study (p=0.055).
CONCLUSIONS
The ITPA SNP rs1127354 is a useful predictor of ribavirin-induced anemia in Taiwanese patients and may be related to more severe decreases in platelet counts during the early stage of HCV combination therapy.

Keyword

Hematologic abnormalities; Ribavirin; Chronic hepatitis C; Polymorphism; ITPA

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Anemia/chemically induced/genetics
Antiviral Agents/*adverse effects
Cross-Sectional Studies
Drug Therapy, Combination/adverse effects
Female
Hematologic Diseases/*chemically induced/genetics
Hepacivirus
Hepatitis C/*drug therapy
Humans
Interferon-alpha/adverse effects
Male
Middle Aged
*Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Pyrophosphatases/*genetics
Retrospective Studies
Ribavirin/adverse effects
Taiwan
Thrombocytopenia/chemically induced/genetics
Antiviral Agents
Interferon-alpha
Pyrophosphatases
Ribavirin