Mayor of London supports Hepatitis C treatment trial
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has given his support to a south London led clinical trial aimed at testing and treating people with Hepatitis C (HCV).
The Access To Treat in the Community (ATTIC) study is targeted at testing and treating homeless people in areas where infection rates of Hepatitis C are highly prevalent. This trial will support NHS England’s ambition to eliminate HCV as a public health threat in England by 2025. The World Health Organisation’s global goal is 2030.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus, which primarily affects the liver. People can live with the infection for decades without symptoms but untreated cases can cause fatal cirrhosis and liver cancer. There are an estimated 113,000 people living with the virus in England, around half of whom are undiagnosed.
The study involves an HCV outreach testing and treatment van, run by King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and The Hepatitis C Trust, roving around south-east London hostels and community services. The Mayor recently visited the bus at the Manna Centre in London Bridge. He said:
“If left untreated, this virus can be extremely damaging but, once diagnosed, it can be managed quickly and effectively, enabling patients to make a full recovery.
“This is why I’m urging all Londoners in high-risk groups or those who might be experiencing symptoms of Hepatitis C to get tested.
“Every Londoner deserves access to quality healthcare and this testing van offers a way to reach some of our most vulnerable communities. Working in partnership across the capital we want to ensure nobody is left behind and to strive together to eliminate HCV in London.”
If a patient tests positive for HCV, they will receive treatment from the healthcare team working from the van. Researchers are using tablet antiviral drug Zepatier to treat those with a genotype 1 or 4 HCV infection, which works by stopping the virus from multiplying. Those found to have a different genotype access standard NHS treatment.
The research team recently recruited their first patient to ATTIC and King’s College Hospital has a target to recruit 100 people in 2019-2020.
Professor Geoff Dusheiko, Consultant Hepatologist at King’s College Hospital and a Senior Investigator working on the ATTIC study, said: “Offering the option of curative Hepatitis C treatment to homeless patients within this study demonstrates how research should be available to everyone, and can also be transformative for patient care. I have seen this first hand and it is immensely rewarding.”
Sarah Montague, Research Associate at the Institute of Liver Studies at King’s College Hospital, explained: “Previously, some patients with Hepatitis C were just expected to live with the condition due to poor treatment options, however we can now cure them. Patients require a blood test 12 weeks after their final dose of Zepatier to determine whether they have been cured.
“The aim of this trial is not only to increase testing, so we can discover new cases, but also to demonstrate that we can deliver HCV treatment in the homeless community. We are really pleased to have recruited our first patient to the study, and are keen to use this success as a springboard to recruiting more people.
“Meeting Sadiq was a great opportunity to demonstrate the importance of our work. Our team were delighted to talk to him about our service and to have his support."
CRN South London Co-Clinical Director Dr Kosh Agarwal, who is also a Chief Investigator for the ATTIC study at King’s College Hospital, said: “The support received from CRN South London has been critical in facilitating our multidisciplinary team to deliver this complex, interventional, out of hospital study.”
