An Index to Predict Ribavirin-Induced Anemia in Asian Patients With Chronic Genotype 1 Hepatitis C

BACKGROUND Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the inosine triphosphate pyrophosphatase (ITPA) gene correlate with ribavirin (RBV)-induced anemia in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) receiving combination therapy. Managing anemia is an early priority in the treatment process. OBJECTIVES The aim was to develop a predictive index based on ITPA SNP status to identify CHC patients at risk of anemia. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 418 eligible East Asian patients diagnosed with CHC genotype 1 (G1) received combination therapy in this study. Participant DNA was genotyped for a functional ITPA SNP (C/C, A/A or C/A) on chromosome 20 at rs1127354. A predictive index was constructed by incorporating independent factors identified for severe anemia events (hemoglobin < 10 g/dL). Areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUCs) represented the diagnostic accuracies of the predictive index in randomly assigned development and validation cohorts. RESULTS Multiple logistic regressions identified age (≥ 50 y: OR = 9.7, 95% CI = 5.0 - 18.6), ITPA rs1127354 (C/C: OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.8 - 5.8) and baseline hemoglobin (< 14.0 g/dL: OR 6.4, 95% CI = 3.3 - 12.1; 14.0 - 14.9: OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.2 - 4.6) as predictors of severe anemia throughout the treatment. For severe anemia, the predictive index incorporating age, ITPA SNP status and baseline hemoglobin yielded diagnostic accuracies (AUCs) of 0.830 (95% CI = 0.783 - 0.871) in the development (n = 324) and 0.902 (0.826 - 0.925) in the validation (n = 81) cohorts. CONCLUSIONS In patients with CHC G1 and receiving combination therapy, ITPA SNP-based index was an accurate and practical solution for prediction of severe anemia.