Updates in the management and treatment of HCV genotype 3, what are the remaining challenges?

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) genotype-3 (G-3) infection is the next most prevalent genotype with 54.3 million patients globally. It is associated with an increasing risk of fibrosis, liver-related events, hepatocellular carcinoma, and overall mortality. G-3 infection may have a negative impact on histological and clinical outcomes in CHC patients. In addition, its characteristic features of steatosis and metabolic abnormalities may add more difficulty in the disease management. Area covered: Fortunately, the landscape of management has been drastically changed in the past decade with the blooming of all oral direct antiviral agents (DAAs). The extremely high efficacy, high safety, short treatment duration, low adverse effects, and easy dosing of DAAs provide an excellent exploration of medical therapeutics in human history. The review consisted of the updated management of CHC G-3, and also touched upon what are the remaining challenges currently. Some challenges and unmet needs were also raised in a clinical setting, including treatment barriers, clinical outcomes, and metabolic abnormalities. Expert commentary: There is a pressing need for management of G-3 infection because of its large patient burden and poor clinical outcomes than other genotypes. Further investigation is warranted in terms of its treatment barriers and clinical outcomes.