Key result
Baseline elevated serum angiopoietin-2 levels independently predicted long-term non-regression of liver fibrosis at 96 weeks after direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C (OR 1.004).
Why the study?
To investigate the factors associated with long-term non-regression of liver fibrosis at 96 weeks after direct-acting-antiviral therapy for hepatitis C.
Do baseline elevated serum angiopoietin-2 levels predict long-term non-regression of liver fibrosis after direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C?
Cohort (n=110)
No
Do baseline elevated serum angiopoietin-2 levels predict long-term non-regression of liver fibrosis after direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C?
Odds Ratio: 1.004 (95% CI 1–1.01)
p-value: p=0.039
Baseline elevated serum angiopoietin-2 levels predict long-term non-regression of liver fibrosis at 96 weeks after successful HCV eradication with direct-acting antivirals.
Elevated angiopoietin-2 may identify HCV patients at risk for persistent fibrosis post-DAA; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation before clinical use.
We previously revealed that Angiopoietin-2 (Ang2) predicts non-regression of liver fibrosis based on liver stiffness measurement (LSM) at 24 weeks after anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment. In this study, we extended the observational period to 96 weeks to investigate the factors associated with non-regression after treatment with direct-acting-antivirals (DAAs). Patients treated with DAAs who underwent transient elastography at baseline and 24 and 96 weeks after DAA therapy were included. Baseline and post-treatment serum Ang2 levels were measured. Liver fibrosis stages were defined based on LSM. Multivariate regression was used to evaluate factors associated with non-regression of liver fibrosis between various time points. In total, 110 patients were included. Of these, 11% showed non-regression of LSM-based fibrosis stage at 96 weeks after DAA therapy. In multivariate analysis, advanced liver fibrosis stage and high baseline Ang2 levels were significantly associated with non-regression at 96 weeks. In patients with advanced liver fibrosis (F3/4), baseline Ang2 levels were associated with non-regression of liver fibrosis stage. Between SVR24 and SVR96, post-treatment Ang2 levels and controlled attenuation parameter values at SVR24 were significantly associated with non-regression of liver fibrosis stage in patients with F3/4. Thus, serum Ang2 levels are an important target for monitoring and therapy.
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Kawagishi et al. (2021) conducted a cohort in Hepatitis C virus infection (n=110). Baseline elevated serum angiopoietin-2 vs. Lower baseline serum angiopoietin-2 was evaluated on Non-regression of liver fibrosis stage based on liver stiffness measurement at 96 weeks after DAA initiation (OR 1.004, 95% CI 1.00-1.01, p=0.039). Baseline elevated serum angiopoietin-2 levels independently predicted long-term non-regression of liver fibrosis at 96 weeks after direct-acting antiviral therapy for hepatitis C (OR 1.004).
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