Weight loss in HCV patients can be used as a surrogate marker for evaluation of interferon (IFN-α) treatment efficacy – A prospective pilot study

The aim of the study was to investigate whether weight loss followed the same pattern in hcv patients (‘responders’ and ‘non-responders) after interferon (ifn-α) treatment. a total of 20 male hcv positive patients (mean age 33.1±9.9) in peshawar, pakistan participated in this study. they were initially tested as hcv positive, and were given ifn/ribavarin treatment for 6 months. changes in body weight (bw), lean body mass (lbm) and body fat (bf) were monitored on monthly basis. end to treatment response (etr) was established by a final undetectable hcv rna in serum at the end of therapy and the patients were categorized as either ‘responders’ or ‘non-responders’. the results show a total of 12 out of 20 patients as ‘responders’ (60%). all patients lost weight and the mean weight loss in ‘responders’ and ‘non-responders’ was 6.2 (±1.5) and 5.8 (±1.4) kg, respectively. there was a significant difference in the mean change in bw, lbm, and bf between ‘responders’ and ‘non-responders’ during the last 3 month period only. this suggests that difference in drug response in hcv starts from month 4 and onwards (i.e. during the last 3 months). in conclusion, weight trends during treatment should be monitored as weight loss may be used as a surrogate marker for ert to the current standard of care.