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World J Gastroenterol. Mar 21, 2014; 20(11): 2839-2853
Published online Mar 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i11.2839
Individualization of chronic hepatitis C treatment according to the host characteristics
Nikolaos K Gatselis, Kalliopi Zachou, Asterios Saitis, Maria Samara, George N Dalekos
Nikolaos K Gatselis, Kalliopi Zachou, Asterios Saitis, George N Dalekos, Department of Medicine and Research Laboratory of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece
Maria Samara, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larissa, Greece
Author contributions: Gatselis NK, Zachou K and Dalekos GN had the original idea, designed the chapters and wrote the first draft of the review; Saitis A, Gatselis NK, Samara M and Zachou K collected and summarized the published literature while, made many critical comments on the manuscript; Dalekos GN made the final critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; all authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Correspondence to: George N Dalekos, MD, PhD, Professor, Head, Department of Medicine and Research Laboratory of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Biopolis, 41110 Larissa, Greece. dalekos@med.uth.gr
Telephone: +30-241-3502285 Fax: +30-241-3501557
Received: September 19, 2013
Revised: November 19, 2013
Accepted: January 6, 2014
Published online: March 21, 2014
Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global health problem that affects more than 170 million people worldwide. It is a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, making the virus the most common cause of liver failure and transplantation. The standard-of-care treatment for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) has been changed during the last decade and direct acting antiviral drugs have already been used. Besides, understanding of the pathogenesis of CHC has evolved rapidly during the last years and now several host factors are known to affect the natural history and response to treatment. Recent genome-wide association studies have shown the important role of interleukin-28B and inosine triphosphatase in HCV infection. The present review article attempts to summarize the current knowledge on the role of host factors towards individualization of HCV treatment.

Keywords: Chronic hepatitis C, Hepatitis C virus host factors, Interleukin 28B, Inosine triphosphatase, Single nucleotide polymorphism

Core tip: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major health problem with personal, social and economic implications. In the past few years, advances in HCV molecular virology and host genetics revealed a complex interplay between the virus and the host that influence the natural history of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and response to treatment. Besides, the management of CHC has evolved with the development of direct acting antiviral agents (DAAs). In this review, we have summarized the knowledge regarding host determinants of HCV treatment outcome and consider how this knowledge might help to individualize clinical management in the era of DAAs.