Mutations in the hepatitis C virus core gene are associated with advanced liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can promote the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Published data implicate the HCV core gene in oncogenesis. We tested the hypothesis that core gene sequences from HCC patients differ from those of patients without cirrhosis/HCC.

Baseline characteristics and early on-treatment response predict the outcomes of 2 years of telbivudine treatment of chronic hepatitis B.

Background/aims: In the GLOBE trial, telbivudine treatment was identified as a significant, independent predictor of better outcomes at 2 years. We analyzed all telbivudine recipients in this trial to determine the predictors of optimal outcomes.

Methods: The intent-to-treat population comprised 458 HBeAg-positive and 222 HBeAg-negative telbivudine-treated patients.

Quasispecies heterogeneity within the E1/E2 region as a pretreatment variable during pegylated interferon therapy of chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

A series of 29 patients undergoing treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection with pegylated alpha-2a interferon plus ribavirin were studied for patterns of response to antiviral therapy and viral quasispecies evolution. All patients were treatment naive and had chronic inflammation and fibrosis on biopsy. As part of an analysis of pretreatment variables that might affect the outcome of treatment, genetic heterogeneity within the viral E1-E2 glycoprotein region (nucleotides 851 to 2280) was assessed by sequencing 10 to 15 quasispecies clones per patient from serum-derived PCR products.