Abstract
Within the last 2 years, a number of Genome- Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have shown that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the interleukin 28B (IL28B) gene region, encoding interferon-λ3, are predictive of hepatitis C clearance in patients receiving interferon-α and ribavirin-based treatment regimens. In addition, the same SNPs are strongly linked with spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus in treatment-naïve patients. The causal variant responsible for these findings has not been identified. Nevertheless, the discovery of a correlation between the IL28B genotype status and treatment outcome has impacted all aspects of clinical decision making in patients with hepatitis C, and has opened up the very real possibility of individualized treatment regimens based on variations at the IL28B gene locus.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 153-161 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Current Hepatitis Reports |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2011 |
Keywords
- Current and future therapies, Interleukin-28B
- Hepatitis C Virus
- IL28B Polymorphism
- Interferon
- Ribavirin
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Hepatology
- Virology