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CompletedNCT01634919Updated Dec 3, 2024

Histologic Changes and Noninvasive Assessment in Hepatitis C Patients Treated with Peginterferon Alpha-2a and Ribavirin

An observational study in Chronic Hepatitis C, sponsored by Seoul National University Boramae Hospital. Completed at 2 sites in Korea, Republic of. Open to participants aged 20 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-12-03.

Sponsored by Seoul National University Boramae Hospital · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
55
Ages
20 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

•The purpose of this study is to compare the performance between liver biopsy and non-invasive fibrosis assessments evaluating anti-fibrotic efficacy of peginterferon plus ribavirin in patients with hepatitis C pre- and post-treatment

Read the detailed description
  • Patients with histologically advanced hepatitis C receiving peginterferon plus ribavirin combination therapy have showed 30-40% of a sustained virologic response (SVR) rate and 50% of histologic improvement.
  • The histologic change of liver is the most important prognosticator to predict further clinical outcomes in advanced hepatitis C patients following peginterferon-based antiviral therapy.
  • Although liver biopsy remains the gold standard for histologic assessment, it has several shortcomings in terms of poor repeatability due to its invasiveness and poor reproducibility due to sampling error and intra- or inter-observer variability.
  • Treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis C will receive PEGASYS® 180 mcg once weekly and ribavirin twice daily for 24 or 48 weeks depending on the genotype of hepatitis C virus (HCV).
  • All subjects will be followed for up to 48 weeks after treatment cessation.
  • Liver biopsy will be done at baseline and the end of follow-up for the evaluation of histologic response.
  • Noninvasive tests for liver fibrosis (ARFI elastography, APRI, FIB-4, FibroTest®, and ELF test) will be assessed per 24 weeks during the whole study period.
  • The results of this study will provide insight into the histo-physical link between histologic changes and liver stiffness dynamics during and after peginterferon alpha-2a plus ribavirin treatment in patients with advanced hepatitis C.
  • Therefore, noninvasive fibrosis assessments may be useful to trace fibrosis outcomes in patients with advanced hepatitis C receiving antiviral therapy.
02

Conditions studied

  • Chronic Hepatitis C

Keywords

  • Chronic hepatitis C
  • Liver fibrosis
  • ARFI(Acoustic radiation force impulse)
03

In context

Hepatitis C, Chronic

950 studies on the registry are indexed under Hepatitis C, Chronic; 8 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 55 is below the median of 282 across 211 observational studies indexed under Hepatitis C, Chronic.

Browse Hepatitis C, Chronic studies →

Lead sponsor

Seoul National University Boramae Hospital is the lead sponsor of 12 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Probability sample

Study population

Hospital-based cohort

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Male and female subjects ≥20 years of age
  • Subjects with positive anti- Ab in sera
  • Subjects with detectable HCV RNA by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (> 50 IU/mL)
  • Subjects without receiving any previous antiviral treatment
  • Subjects undergoing radiologic studies (liver ultrasonography (USG), CT or MRI) to exclude the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the last 1 year before enrolment
  • All fertile males with partners of childbearing age and females must be using reliable during the study and for 3 months after treatment completion
  • Written should be obtained from all subjects.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of any interferon (IFN)-based therapy before enrolment
  • Positive test at screening for anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) immunoglobulin M (IgM) Ab, , anti-hepatitis D virus (HDV) Ab or anti- Ab
  • confirmed liver cirrhosis (F4 of fibrosis stage)
  • If subjects have compromised liver function ( score >6)
  • Signs or symptoms of hepatocellular carcinoma within the last 1 year before enrolment
  • History or other evidence of a medical condition associated with chronic liver disease other than viral hepatitis (e.g., hemochromatosis, hepatitis, metabolic liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, toxin exposures, thalassemia)
  • Women with ongoing pregnancy or who are breast feeding
  • Male partner of potentially pregnant women
  • \<1,500 cells/mm3 or count \<75,000 cells/mm3 at screening
  • \<11 g/dL for females and \<12 g/dL for men at screening
  • Serum creatinine level >1.5 times the at screening
  • Evidence of therapy
  • History of severe psychiatric disease, especially depression.(Severe psychiatric disease is defined as major depression or psychosis, suicidal attempt, hospitalization for psychiatric disease, or a period of disability due to a psychiatric disease)
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(13)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Hepatitis C tests

Hepatitis C is a virus that infects the liver. An HCV antibody test can stay positive after an infection has cleared (and is occasionally positive without one); an HCV RNA test shows whether the virus is there now.

After treatment, hepatitis C counts as cured when HCV RNA is still undetectable 12 weeks or more after the treatment ended. Studies often accept people cured this way.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Histologically or cytologically confirmed

The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).

Your pathology report is the document that shows this.

Child-Pugh class

A score of how well the liver works in people with liver disease such as cirrhosis: class A is mild, B moderate and C severe.

Autoimmune disease

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.

Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
55 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No
Biospecimen retention
Samples with dna

Groups and cohorts

  • Chronic hepatitis C

    Chronic hepatitis C

    Device: chronic hepatitis C

Interventions

  • Devicechronic hepatitis C

    acoustic radiation force impulse ultrasonography

    Also known as: noninvasive fibrosis imaging

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Anti-fibrotic response

    Anti-fibrotic response, indicated by a lack of histological worsening, defined as the stabilization or the improvement of at least one stage in the histologic fibrosis staging 48 weeks after the end of treatment

    Time frame: 48 weeks after the end of treatment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Histologic and noninvasive fibrosis assessments

    * Liver fibrosis score(according to the viral genotype or virologic response) * Morphometric analysis of fibrosis surface area * Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) ultrasound imaging and clinical fibrosis indices (APRI, FIB-4, FibroTest®, and ELF test) * Noninvasive tests using the tissue shear wave speed and clinical fibrosis indices

    Time frame: 48 weeks after the end of treatment

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • Seoul Metropolitan Government Boramae Medical Center
    Seoul, 156-707, Korea, Republic of
  • SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center
    Seoul, 156-707, Korea, Republic of
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 3, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01634919
Lead sponsor
Seoul National University Boramae Hospital
Responsible party
Won Kim (MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Seoul National University Boramae Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jul 6, 2012
Start date
Jul 2012
Primary completion
Feb 17, 2017
Completion
Feb 9, 2018
Last update
Dec 3, 2024

Study contacts

Won Kim, Ph.D
principal investigator · SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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