The natural course of HCV
infection remains controversial. The German HCV (1b)-contaminated
anti-D cohort provides an ideal population to investigate the natural course of HCV
infection in a large, homogenous cohort of young women from the date of HCV inoculation. Our previous follow-up studies at 20 and 25 years after
infection suggested slow
fibrosis progression rates in this unique cohort. The aim of our prospective, community-based, multicenter study was to reevaluate the
liver disease progression in 718 patients of the original
anti-D cohort at 35 years after
infection. Patients with self-limited HCV
infection (n = 189) were compared to those who failed to eliminate the virus spontaneously (n = 529), comprising patients who were treatment naïve (n = 197) or achieved a sustained virological response (SVR; n = 149), respectively, failed to clear the virus (non-SVR; n = 183) after
antiviral therapy. In the overall cohort, 9.3% of patients showed clinical signs of
liver cirrhosis at 35 years after
infection.
Liver disease progression largely depended on HCV
infection status. The highest proportion of patients with clinical signs of
end-stage liver disease was observed in the non-SVR group (15.3%), whereas decreased
cirrhosis rates were detected in the SVR group (6%) and in patients with self-limited HCV
infection (1.1%; P = 6.2 × 10(-6)). Overall survival was significantly enhanced after SVR, compared to treatment-naïve patients or non-SVR (P = 0.027).
CONCLUSION: The present study provides further evidence for a mild, but significant,
disease progression at 35 years after
infection in the German HCV (1b)-contaminated
anti-D cohort. Patients with self-limited HCV
infection or SVR after
antiviral treatment were protected from progressive
liver disease and showed the best clinical long-term outcome.