Studies with direct-acting
antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus (HCV) monoinfection and
HIV coinfection were highlighted at the 2013 Conference on Retroviruses and
Opportunistic Infections (CROI). In HCV monoinfected patients, several
interferon alfa-sparing, all-oral regimens demonstrated cure rates of greater than 90% with 12 weeks of treatment, including for hard-to-treat patients. Cure rates of 75% were attained in HIV/HCV coinfected patients with the addition of the investigational HCV
protease inhibitor (PI)
simeprevir to peginterferon alfa and
ribavirin. Drug-drug interaction data to inform safe coadminstration of antiretroviral
therapy with DAA-based HCV treatment were presented. There was continued emphasis on pathogenesis, management, and prevention of the long-term complications of HIV disease and its
therapies, including
cardiovascular disease, renal disease, alterations in bone metabolism, and
vitamin D deficiency, along with a growing focus on
biomarkers to predict development of end-organ disease. Understanding the elevated risk for non-
AIDS-defining
malignancies in the HIV-infected population and optimal management was a focal point of this year's data. Finally, the conference provided important information on
tuberculosis coinfection and
cryptococcal meningitis.