Early changes in dynamic biomarkers of liver fibrosis in hepatitis C virus-infected patients treated with sofosbuvir

Background: Chronic hepatitis C is a major cause of liver-associated mortality caused by decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. With the approval of sofosbuvir, therapeutic efficacy has markedly increased. Early changes in non-invasive biomarkers of liver fibrosis under effective antiviral therapy are widely unknown. Aim: To evaluate early changes of fibrosis markers determined by enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) scores and liver stiffness measurement (FibroScan (R)) in patients treated with sofosbuvir. Methods: A total of 32 hepatitis C patients treated prospectively with sofosbuvir were included. The ELF-panel and FibroScan measurements were performed at baseline, week 4, end-of-treatment and 12 weeks thereafter. Results: Antiviral therapy resulted in a biochemical and virological response within 4 weeks. Sustained virological response rate at 12-week follow-up (SVR12) was 93.8%; there was a significantly decrease from baseline to 12-week post-treatment follow-up in ELF (10.00 vs. 9.37; p = 0.007) and FibroScan (8.0 vs. 6.8 kPa; p = 0.016) measurements, indicating improvement of the dynamics of liver fibrosis. Conclusion: We observed a rapid decrease in non-invasive fibrosis markers measured by ELF-scores and FibroScan in hepatitis C-infected patients receiving sofosbuvir treatment. These initial results need to be histologically confirmed by liver biopsy in the future. (C) 2015 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.