Abstract

Background: A dinucleotide variant rs368234815 in interferon lambda 4 (IFNL4) gene was recently found to be associated with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment response. This study aimed to assess the impact of IFNL4 rs368234815 polymorphism on treatment response to pegylated-IFN alpha (Peg-IFN-alpha) and ribavirin (RBV) in hemophilic patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, 92 hemophilic patients with CHC who were treated with Peg-IFN-alpha/RBV were investigated. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (?SNPs) in IFNL genomic region including rs368234815, rs12979860, and rs8099917 were analyzed by DNA sequencing. Results: Of the 92 patients, 63 (68.5) achieved sustained virological response (SVR). Of the 43 patients with rs368234815 TT/TT genotype, 36 (83.7) achieved SVR, while in 49 patients with non-TT/TT genotypes, 27 (55.1) achieved SVR. Other pretreatment parameters predicted SVR were patients' body mass index, HCV genotype, rs12979860, and rs8099917 SNPs. In multivariate analysis, all above-mentioned parameters except rs8099917 remained as predictors of SVR. IFNL4 rs368234815 was a strong predictor of SVR; however, the prediction power of this SNP was the same as that of rs12979860 SNP in the patients of the current study. Conclusion: IFNL4 rs368234815 SNP can be considered for decision-making in the treatment of HCV-infected patients.