Patient-Reported Outcomes of Elderly Adults with Chronic Hepatitis C Treated with Interferon- and Ribavirin-Free Regimens

The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of different treatment regimens for chronic hepatitis C on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) of individuals aged 65 and older with chronic hepatitis C. PRO data from eight multinational multicenter Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials were included. Of 3,120 participants in these clinical trials, 229 were aged 65 and older (67.8 ± 3.2, 57% male, 75% treatment-naïve, 22% cirrhotic), and 90 of those received ledipasvir plus sofosbuvir (LDV + SOF), 119 received SOF plus ribavirin (SOF + RBV), and 20 received pegylated IFN, SOF, and RBV (IFN + SOF + RBV). Participants aged 65 and older had slightly more pretreatment PRO impairment in their physical functioning than younger individuals (-3.1% on a normalized 0-100% PRO scale, P < .001). Despite this, these participants experienced significant PRO improvement during treatment with IFN-free RBV-free regimens (up to +8.0%, P < .001), similar to improvements in younger participants. In contrast, participants aged 65 and older experienced substantial decline in PROs while receiving IFN- or RBV-containing regimens (up to -18.9% in IFN + SOF + RBV, -10.4% in IFN-free SOF+RBV, P < .001), and some were greater than in the younger group. Nevertheless, after achieving sustained viral clearance at Posttreatment Week 12, PROs in participants aged 65 and older improved regardless of the regimen (up to +10.4%, P < .001). In multivariate analysis of the cohort aged 65 and older, the use of IFN and RBV was consistently associated with PRO impairment during treatment. The use of an IFN- and RBV-free anti-HCV regimen in older adults with hepatitis C results in significant improvement of PROs.