Efficacy and Safety of Sofosbuvir-containing Regimens in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients with Genotype 2 and 3: a Comprehensive Analysis of 18 Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

Background and Aim: Sofosbuvir is a hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B polymerase inhibitor. The objective of this study was to explore the efficacy and safety of sofosbuvir for HCV genotype (GT) 2 and 3 infected patients.Method: We searched randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which analyzed the efficacy and safety of sofosbuvircontaining regimens for HCV GT 2/3 infected patients and collected data. The endpoints were sustained virological response 12- and 24-weeks after the cessation of therapy (SVR12 and SVR24), the adverse events (AEs) and the severe adverse events (SAEs).Results: Eighteen trials comprising 2,975 HCV GT 2/3 infected patients were included. The pooled estimate SVR12, SVR24, AEs and SAEs rates were 84.6% (95% CI: 83.2-86.0), 83.7% (95% CI: 82.0-85.2), 83.8 (95% CI: 82.3-85.3) and 3.9 (95% CI: 3.2-4.8). The SVR12 rate of sofosbuvir-containing regimens for HCV GT 2 infection was higher than that for HCV GT 3 infection (95.7% vs. 80.8%). The sofosbuvir combined with velpatasvir (with or without ribavirin) regimen presented a higher SVR12 rate and lower AEs rate than the sofosbuvir combined with ribavirin (with or without peg-IFN) regimen (94.9% vs. 80.7% for SVR12 rate; 69.3% vs. 87.7% for AEs rate).Conclusions: The sofosbuvir-containing regimens in patients with HCV GT 2 infection have better efficacy than in patients with HCV GT 3 infection.