Influence of Genetic Variants on Disease Regression and Outcomes in HCV-Related Advanced Chronic Liver Disease after SVR.

Genetic variants including and have been shown to influence progression to advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). We aimed to investigate their impact on disease regression (i.e., changes in hepatic venous pressure gradient [HVPG] and non-invasive surrogates [liver stiffness measurement (LSM), von Willebrand factor (VWF), and VWF/platelet count ratio (VITRO)]) and clinical outcomes after CHC cure in 346 patients with pre-treatment ACLD. Patients carrying the minor allele had more advanced liver disease prior to antiviral therapy, confirming its impact on liver disease progression. In a subgroup of 88 patients who underwent paired HVPG-measurements and were genotyped for all SNP/indels, genotypes were not associated with changes in HVPG. In line, changes in non-invasive surrogates of portal hypertension (LSM/VWF/VITRO) were comparable between carriers and non-carriers of the -allele in the overall cohort. Finally, carriage of -allele was not associated with the development of hepatic decompensation, de-novo hepatocellular carcinoma, or transplant-free mortality during a median follow-up of 42 months after the end of antiviral treatment. Therefore, genetic variants in do not impact the regression of portal hypertension and clinical outcomes in patients with pre-treatment ACLD after CHC cure.