Efficacy and safety of direct-acting antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C genotype 6: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Because of the heterogeneity of hepatitis C virus (HCV) distribution of different genotypes, large-scale clinical trials on direct-acting antiviral (DAA) mainly included patients with genotype 1 and genotype 3 infection. Data on the efficacy of direct-acting antiviral agents in patients with chronic genotype 6 HCV infection are limited. METHODS: The PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Libraries were searched comprehensively. All published clinical trials assessing the efficacy of DAA therapy for patients with chronic genotype 6 HCV infection were included. Sustained virological response (SVR) and rapid virological response (RVR) were pooled. Additional meta-analyses were also performed to compare the efficacy of DAA therapy in HCV-6 versus HCV-1 or HCV-3 patients. RESULTS: Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in our meta-analysis. The pooled SVR of all single arms was 95% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.90–0.97]. The pooled RVR of all single arms was 97% (95% CI: 0.95–0.99). The SVR and RVR were both similar between HCV-6 and HCV-1 or HCV-3. Adverse events were common but rarely caused treatment interruption. CONCLUSION: Based on the available data, our results indicate that DAA treatment is effective and safe for patients with genotype 6 HCV infection, and the efficacy was similar compared to patients with genotype 1 HCV or genotype 3 HCV infection.