Comparison of clinical outcomes and impact of SVR in American and Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis C

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Chronic HCV infection is an important cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver failure in the US but limited data are available in China. We compared the incidence of clinical outcomes among adults with chronic HCV infection in the US and China and examined factors associated with outcomes. METHODS: A parallel prospective study of 2 cohorts of patients with HCV RNA+ recruited in 1 site in the US (UMHS) and 3 sites (PUHSC) in China between September 2011 and July 2015 was carried out. Composite liver outcomes (liver-related deaths, HCC, liver transplantation or liver decompensation), were analysed using competing-risk Cox proportional hazards model to determine incidence and associated factors. RESULTS: A total of 795 UMHS and 854 PUHSC patients were followed for a median of 3.06 and 3.99 years, respectively. At enrolment, a significantly higher percentage of UMHS patients had cirrhosis (45.4% vs. 16.2%). The 5-year cumulative incidence of composite liver outcomes was significantly higher in UMHS than in PUHSC patients (25.3% vs. 6.6%, p <0.0001). Stratification by stage of liver disease at enrolment showed this difference persisted only in the subgroup without cirrhosis due to higher aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) in the UMHS cohort. A total of 493 UMHS and 502 PUHSC patients received HCV treatment, and sustained virologic response (SVR) was achieved in 88.0% UMHS and 86.8% PUHSC treated-patients. SVR as time-dependent variable was associated with 80% lower risk of composite liver outcomes among patients with decompensated cirrhosis but not the overall cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: When accounting for disease severity at entry, the incidence of composite liver outcomes was similar in patients with HCV in the US and China. Achievement of SVR had the greatest short-term impact on patients with decompensated cirrhosis. LAY SUMMARY: Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection were recruited from centres in the United States and China. During follow-up, a higher percentage of the American patients had clinical outcomes: liver failure, liver cancer, liver transplant or liver-related deaths than the Chinese patients, mainly because more American patients had cirrhosis at enrolment. Older age and more advanced liver disease were associated with higher incidence of outcomes overall and viral clearance after hepatitis C treatment was associated with a lower incidence of outcomes in patients with advanced cirrhosis. Our findings highlight the importance of improving diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C before advanced liver disease develops.