Relationship between hepatic iron deposits and response to interferon in chronic hepatitis C.

OBJECTIVES

The response to interferon in chronic hepatitis C is believed to be affected by hepatic iron content. We histopathologically examined liver biopsy specimens from patients with chronic hepatitis C to determine whether the presence or absence of hepatic iron deposits correlated with the response to interferon.

METHODS

Sixty-three patients with hepatitis C treated with interferon-alpha were examined. Liver biopsy specimens obtained just before treatment were sliced and stained with Perls' Prussian blue. Twenty patients had complete responses, 24 patients had transient responses, and 19 patients had no response.

RESULTS

Iron deposits stained by Prussian blue were seen in hepatocytes, sinusoidal cells, and portal mesenchymal cells. The degree of hepatocytic and sinusoidal iron deposits did not correlate with the response to interferon. However, the degree of portal iron deposits did correlate with hepatic inflammation activity (tau = 0.55, p < 0.001) and the severity of liver fibrosis (tau = 0.60, p < 0.001), and it correlated negatively to the response to interferon (tau = -0.49, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that portal iron deposits are a factor in the response to interferon. The presence of portal iron deposits seems to be related to a poor response.