Predictive value of FIB-4 and APRI versus METAVIR on sustained virologic response in genotype 1 hepatitis C patients

Purpose Advanced liver fibrosis is a negative predictor of virologic response in genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. Biopsy, however, is invasive, costly, and carries some risk of complications. Methods Using data from the prospective, international cohort study PROPHESYS, we assessed two alternative noninvasive measures of fibrosis, the FIB-4 and AST-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), to predict virologic response in CHC patients. Results CHC genotype 1, monoinfected, treatment-naive patients prescribed peginterferon alfa-2a (40 KD)/ribavirin in accordance with country-specific legal and regulatory requirements and who had baseline METAVIR, FIB-4, and APRI scores ( N = 1,592) were included in this analysis. Patients were stratified according to the baseline METAVIR, FIB-4, or APRI score to assess virologic response [hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA