(dailyRx News)
Patients in a research study with chronic hepatitis C infection who drank three or more cups of coffee a day while receiving peginterferon plus ribavirin treatment were two times more likely to respond to treatment than non-drinkers.

Hepatitis C (HCV) is an infectious disease which has progressed to chronic HCV infection in around 150 million people worldwide. Those with chronic HCV infection often develop liver cancer or chronic liver disease.

Neal Freedman, PhD, MPH, of the National Cancer Institute and lead author of this study reports that drinking coffee has previously been associated with lower levels of liver enzymes, reduced progression of chronic liver disease and reduced incidence of liver cancer.

The authors observed an independent association between coffee intake and virologic response to treatment, but this association needs further study and replication to verify.

Among non-coffee drinkers, 46 percent had an early viral infection while 26 percent had no detectable serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) ribonucleic acid at week 20.  Twenty-two percent had no detectable serum at week 48 while 11 percent had a sustained viral infection.

In the population of this study who were steady coffee drinkers, the corresponding proportions were: 73 percent had no detectable serum hepatitis C virus, 52 percent had no detectable serum hepatitis C virus at week 20, and 49 percent had no detectable serum hepatitis C at week 48.

Most patients with HCV will become chronically infected. Higher coffee consumption has already been associated with slowing the progression of liver disease and lowering liver cancer risk.

Before this study, coffee and its relationship with  anti-HCV treatment had not been looked at. Therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin works to alleviate chronic hepatitis C in about half of patients.

It is not clear whether these results can be generalized to other patient populations. Future studies including patients with less advanced disease, those who have never had cirrhosis of the liver treatment, or those who are being treated with newer antiviral agents are needed.