Hep C: Six weeks of direct-acting antiviral therapy ‘suboptimal’
An Australian-led study comparing six and 12 weeks of therapy was stopped early, researchers report
Treating recently acquired hepatitis C infection with just six weeks of direct-acting antiviral combination therapy is inferior to a 12-week course, an Australian-led trial shows.
Professor Gail Matthews, of the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney, led the international REACT trial in which 188 people six weeks into their sofosbuvir/velpatasvir therapy were randomised to either continue for a further six weeks (standard care) or cease the therapy.
All participants in the open-label trial had acquired hepatitis C in the preceding year, 97% were male, 84% were classified as White and 69% were HIV-positive.
There were 25 study sites including five in Australia, with the remainder across Europe, the US and New Zealand.
