Background: Polymorphisms in the interleukin-28B are important determinants in the spontaneous and drug-induced control of hepatitis C virus infection.
Design and methods: We assessed the association of rs8099917 and rs12979860 polymorphisms with spontaneous viral clearance, severity of liver fibrosis, and response to interferon-monotherapy in 245 thalassemia major patients with hepatitis C virus infection.
Results: Ninety-eight patients (40%) had a spontaneous viral clearance while 147 patients (60%) developed a chronic infection. Spontaneous viral clearance was more frequent among patients with the T/T genotype of rs8099917 polymorphism (OR 2.130; P = 0.008) or C/C genotype of rs12979860 polymorphism (OR 2.425; P = 0.001). During observation, 131 patients with chronic infection underwent a liver biopsy; age (OR 1.058; P = 0.01) G/T or G/G genotypes of rs8099917 polymorphism (OR 3.962; P = 0.001), and C/T or T/T genotypes of rs12979860 polymorphism (OR 3.494; P = 0.005) were associated with severe liver fibrosis, independent of liver iron concentration. Finally, T/T genotype of rs8099917 polymorphism (OR 3.014; P = 0.03) or C/C genotype of rs12979860 polymorphism (OR 3.285; P = 0.01), age (OR 0.902; P = 0.001), female gender (OR 3.418; P = 0.01) and 2 or 3 virus C genotypes (OR 4.700; P=0.007) were independently associated with sustained virological response in 114 patients treated with alpha-interferon. Conclusions Polymorphisms in the interleukin-28B are associated with the control of hepatitis C virus infection in thalassemia major patients, and understanding allelic patterns has an important role in determining prognosis and therapeutic management.