Independent prospective multicenter validation of biochemical markers (fibrotest-actitest) for the prediction of liver fibrosis and activity in patients with chronic hepatitis C: the fibropaca study.

Objectives: Fibrotest (FT) and Actitest (AT) are biochemical markers of fibrosis and activity for use as a non-invasive alternative to liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). The aim of this study was to perform an external validation of FT and AT and to study the discordances between FT/AT and liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Methods: A total of 519 consecutive patients with chronic HCV were prospectively included in five centers, with liver biopsy and biochemical markers taken at the same day.

Assessment of early virological response to antiviral therapy by comparing four assays for HCV RNA quantitation using the international unit standard: implications for clinical management of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.

WHO International Standards for nucleic acid tests are used widely to compare the different assays used in HCV RNA quantitation. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the international unit standard for measuring HCV RNA in the management of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Twenty-seven naïve patients infected chronically by HCV were treated with ribavirin plus PEG-interferon-alfa-2b for 48 weeks.