Comparative performance of two commercial sample-to-result systems for hepatitis C virus quantitation and genotyping.

Objectives: Accurate assays for hepatitis C virus (HCV) quantitation and genotyping are important for the management of HCV infection. In this study, we evaluated the performance of cobas HCV and cobas HCV GT assays (Roche) for HCV quantitation and genotyping on the cobas 4800 System.

Methods: We compared the performance of the cobas HCV assays with another commercial system (Abbott 2000) using a panel of well-characterized patient samples and proficiency testing samples.

Results: The limit-of-detection of the cobas HCV assay in our center was higher (15 IU/mL) than the manufacturer claim (9.2 IU/mL). The assay showed high analytical specificity, accuracy, precision, and linearity. Performance was congruent with the RealTie HCV assay (Abbott). For genotyping, the cobas HCV GT assay only showed moderate agreement with the RealTie HCV Genotype II assay (kappa = 0.550). The cobas assay outperformed the RealTie assay for typing HCV genotypes 1b and 6 (p = 0.033).

Conclusion: Our results confirm that the cobas 4800 System is a reliable platform for HCV quantitation and genotyping. The cobas HCV GT assay is a good choice for genotype 1b/6 endemic areas in east Asia, clearly outperforming the RealTie HCV Genotype II assay.