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Sustained virologic response (SVR) is the usual goal of hepatitis C treatment. But is SVR associated with improved clinical outcomes? Researchers studied a retrospective cohort of 479 treated patients at hepatology units; all had advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, and 30% (142 patients) achieved SVR (no detectable hepatitis C virus RNA 24 weeks after the end of treatment).
During a median follow-up of 2 years, a clinical event (liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma, or death) was reported in only 3% of patients with SVR but in 25% of those without SVR. No patients with SVR — but 12% of patients without SVR — developed liver failure. These reductions in clinical events remained significant in adjusted analyses. Substantial reductions in mortal…