Study Finds Racial Differences in Cure Rates for Hepatitis C

In a large ethnically diverse group of patients seen at a community-based Veterans Affairs practice, cure rates for chronic hepatitis C were lower for African-American individuals relative to white individuals, even when patients were receiving optimal therapies. The findings are published in Pharmacology Research & Perspectives.

The investigators noted that although the results demonstrate the importance of racial/ethnic differences in chronic hepatitis C, the true causes of these differences remain unclear and should be further explored in prospective studies where drug levels and patient genetics are taken into account.