EGFR rs11506105 and IFNL3 SNPs but not rs8099917 are strongly associated with treatment responses in Iranian patients with chronic hepatitis C

Interferon lambda 3 (IFNL3) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may play a key role in the spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and treatment responses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of IFNL3 SNPs and EGFR rs11506105 on treatment outcomes in patients with chronic HCV (CHC). IFNL3 SNPs and EGFR rs11506105 were genotyped by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism and PCR-sequencing, respectively, in 235 naive patients with CHC infection. The frequency of rapid virologic response (RVR), complete early virologic response (cEVR) and sustained virologic response (SVR) were 52.3%, 76.2% and 64.7% respectively. The results of this study showed that RVR was associated with ALT (P = 0.015), AST (P = 0.020), IFNL3 rs12979860 (CC) (P = 0.043), rs12980275 (AA) (P= 1x10(-4)), and EGFR rs11506105 (AA) (P = 0.010), and IFNL3 rs12979860 (CC) (P = 0.048), rs12980275 (AA) (P = 0.022), and EGFR rs11506105 (AA) (P = 0.006) were correlated with cEVR. HCV genotype (P = 0.007), IFNL3 rs12979860 (CC) (P = 0.023), IFNL3 rs12980275 (AA) (P= 1x10(-4)), EGFR rs11506105 (AA) (P = 0.005), RVR (P= 1x10(-4)), and cEVR (P = 0.003) were significant predictors for SVR. These results, for the first time, revealed that beside IFNL3 SNPs, EGFR rs11506105 is strongly associated with RVR, cEVR and SVR. EGFR rs11506105 besides IFNL3 SNPs could predict treatment responses in CHC patients.