Hla-Cw7 allele as predictor of favorable therapeutic response to interferon-alpha in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

AIM To evaluate the association between human leukocyte antigens (HLA) class I and therapeutic response to interferon-alpha in Croatian patients with chronic hepatitis C. METHODS HLA-A, -B, and -C genotyping was performed in 55 patients with sustained virological response and in 57 patients without sustained virological response to interferon-alpha therapy. Patients were treated in the period from 1998-2001 with interferon-alpha at a dose of 3 million units three times a week. Patients who became negative for hepatitis C virus RNA after 12 weeks of therapy completed 48 weeks of therapy. RESULTS There was no association between therapeutic outcome and frequency of HLA-A, as well as of HLA-B alleles. HLA-Cw7 was significantly more frequent in patients with than those without sustained virological response (27.0% vs 6.7%; P=0.011). CONCLUSION In Croatian patients with chronic hepatitis C, HLA-Cw7 is the predictor of sustained virological response to interferon-alpha therapy.