Value of von Willebrand factor antigen as a predictor of response to antiviral therapy in patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C

Background: Von Willebrand factor Antigen (vWF-Ag) is an acute phase protein which increases during combination antiviral therapy. As yet there is no validated method of differentiating between sustained virological responders and relapsers during the therapy of hepatitis C. We therefore investigated whether levels of vWF-Ag during combination antiviral therapy can predict sustained virological response (SVR), and whether vWF-Ag already allows a differentiation between patients who will relapse and those who will experience a SVR during therapy. Methods: 108 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis C were inc…