Background/Aims The World Health Organization set the goal of eliminating hepatitis C virus (HCV) by 2030, with 80% and 65% reductions in HCV incidence and mortality rates, respectively. We aimed to evaluate the health benefits, cost-effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) of HCV elimination.
Methods Using an HCV transmission compartmental model, we evaluated the benefits and costs of different strategies combining screening and treatment for Chinese populations. We identified strategies to achieve HCV elimination and calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted for 2022–2030 to identify the optimal elimination strategy. Furthermore, we estimated the ROI by 2050 by comparing the required investment with the economic productivity gains from reduced HCV incidence and deaths.
Result s: The strategy that results in the most significant health benefits involves conducting annual primary screening at a rate of 14%, re-screening people who inject drugs annually and the general population every five years, and treating 95% of those diagnosed (P14-R4-T95), preventing approximately 5.75 and 0.44 million HCV infections and deaths, respectively, during 2022–2030. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of $12,615, the P14-R4-T95 strategy is the most cost-effective, with an ICER of $5,449/DALY. By 2050, this strategy would have a net benefit of $120,997 million (ROI=0.868).
Conclusions Achieving HCV elimination in China by 2030 will require significant investment in large-scale universal screening and treatment, but it will yield substantial health and economic benefits and is cost-effective.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Overcoming barriers to HCV screening in Latin America: from evidence to action Javier Crespo, Jose Luis Calleja, Ezequiel Ridruejo, Marta Alonso-Peña, Joaquín Cabezas, Graciela Elia Castro-Narro, Nelia Hernandez, Hugo Cheinquer, Fernando Contreras, Christie Perelló, Manuel Mendizabal, Fernando Cairo, Mário Guimarães Pessôa, Eduardo Annals of Hepatology.2026; : 102189. CrossRef
Cost-Effectiveness of Screening and Treating Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Zimbabwe Blessing Dzingirai, Leolin Katsidzira, Maarten J. Postma, Marinus van Hulst, Nyashadzaishe Mafirakureva International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2025; 22(4): 509. CrossRef
Investing in health: Policy lessons from reimbursing direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C in Taiwan Raoh-Fang Pwu, Wen-Wen Yang, Grace Hui-Min Wu, Sheng-Nan Lu, Rong-Nan Chien Journal of the Formosan Medical Association.2025; 124: S141. CrossRef
Xueshuai Wan, Karin Wisskirchen, Tao Jin, Lu Yang, Xiaorui Wang, Xiang’an Wu, Fang Liu, Yu Wu, Christy Ma, Yong Pang, Qi Li, Ke Zhang, Ulrike Protzer, Shunda Du
Clin Mol Hepatol 2024;30(4):735-755. Published online May 29, 2024
Background/Aims Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA integration in HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) can be targeted by HBV-specific T cells. SCG101 is an autologous, HBV-specific T-cell product expressing a T-cell receptor (TCR) after lentiviral transduction recognizing the envelope-derived peptide (S20-28) on HLA-A2. We here validated its safety and efficacy preclinically and applied it to an HBV-related HCC patient (NCT05339321).
Methods Good Manufacturing Practice-grade manufactured cells were assessed for off-target reactivity and functionality against hepatoma cells. Subsequently, a patient with advanced HBV-HCC (Child-Pugh class A, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage B, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0, hepatitis B e antigen-, serum hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg]+, HBsAg+ hepatocytes 10%) received 7.9×107 cells/kg after lymphodepletion. Safety, T-cell persistence, and antiviral and antitumor efficacy were evaluated.
Result s: SCG101, produced at high numbers in a closed-bag system, showed HBV-specific functionality against HBV-HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Clinically, treatment was well tolerated, and all adverse events, including transient hepatic damage, were reversible. On day 3, ALT levels increased to 1,404 U/L, and concurrently, serum HBsAg started decreasing by 3.84 log10 and remained <1 IU/mL for over six months. HBsAg-expressing hepatocytes in liver biopsies were undetectable after 73 days. The patient achieved a partial response according to modified RECIST with a >70% reduction in target lesion size. Transferred T cells expanded, developed a stem cell-like memory phenotype, and were still detectable after six months in the patient’s blood.
Conclusions SCG101 T-cell therapy showed encouraging efficacy and safety in preclinical models and in a patient with primary HBV-HCC and concomitant chronic hepatitis B with the capability to eliminate HBsAg+ cells and achieve sustained tumor control after single dosing.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Clinical results of an HBV-specific T-cell receptor-T-cell therapy (SCG101) in patients with HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma treated in an investigator-initiated, interventional trial Xiang'an Wu, Dongmei Quan, Wei Li, Karin Wisskirchen, Wei Wu, Yuhong Zhou, Yun-Peng Liu, Xueshuai Wan, Xiaorui Wang, Xuxu Zhang, Lu Yang, Mengyao Zheng, Ke Zhang, Ulrike Protzer, Shunda Du, Xiujuan Qu Gut.2026; 75(1): 147. CrossRef
Insight into the Biology of Hepatitis B Virus and Recent Therapeutic Approaches Prashant Tiwari, Istuti Saraswat, Jyoti Gupta Current Microbiology.2026;[Epub] CrossRef
HBV reprograms the tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma: mechanisms and therapeutic implications Xiaodong Shen, Hechen Huang, Jianpeng Sheng, Xiaofeng Tang Clinical and Experimental Medicine.2026;[Epub] CrossRef
Reply to correspondence on “Genetically-modified, redirected T cells target hepatitis B surface antigen-positive hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcinoma lesions in a clinical setting” Antonio Bertoletti, Anthony T Tan Clinical and Molecular Hepatology.2025; 31(1): e113. CrossRef
Correspondence to editorial on “Genetically-modified, redirected T cells target hepatitis B surface antigen-positive hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcinoma lesions in a clinical setting” Shunda Du, Karin Wisskirchen, Ke Zhang, Ulrike Protzer Clinical and Molecular Hepatology.2025; 31(1): e44. CrossRef
T lymphocyte-based immune response and therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma: focus on TILs and CAR-T cells Thikra Majid Muhammed, Saade Abdalkareem Jasim, Ahmed Hussein Zwamel, Safia Obaidur Rab, Suhas Ballal, Abhayveer Singh, Anima Nanda, Subhashree Ray, Ahmed Hjazi, Hatif Abdulrazaq Yasin Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology.2025; 398(8): 10007. CrossRef
Hepatitis B: Neue therapeutische Ansätze für eine funktionelle Heilung Markus Cornberg, Ulrike Protzer Deutsches Ärzteblatt Online.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Exploration of the role of immune cells and cell therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma Tao Zhang, Cong Ren, Zhanyu Yang, Ning Zhang, Haowen Tang Frontiers in Immunology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Viral oncogenesis in cancer: from mechanisms to therapeutics Qing Xiao, Yi Liu, Tingting Li, Chaoyu Wang, Sanxiu He, Liuyue Zhai, Zailin Yang, Xiaomei Zhang, Yongzhong Wu, Yao Liu Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Unlocking T‐Cell Plasticity in the Tumor Microenvironment: Implications for Cancer Progression and Therapeutic Strategies Xiao‐Hong Ding, Xue‐Pei Li, Fenfang Chen, Han Wang, Yi‐Zhou Jiang MedComm – Oncology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Immunotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma Zhiqi Guan, Guiqi Zhu, Weiren Liu, Yinghong Shi Clinical Cancer Bulletin.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy: Engineering immune cells to treat liver diseases Elmar Jaeckel, Scott L. Friedman, Michael Hudecek, Ulrike Protzer Journal of Hepatology.2025; 83(5): 1156. CrossRef
Adoptive T-cell therapy for virus-associated diseases Corey Smith, Rajiv Khanna, Graeme N. Forrest Clinical Microbiology Reviews.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
CAR-T cell engineered with TCR-like antibody specific for HBV surface antigen epitope E183–91/HLA-A *0201 exhibit potent activity against HBV-HCC Fengling Wang, Jiaqian Li, Yong Huang, Feiyang Yan, Haozhan Gao, Weilin Zhou, Xinyu Gu, Dan Li, Yalan Zhang, Jing Li, Yuening Yang, Jiangping Yang, Mengxi Zhang, Jinrong Yang, Shimao Qi, Wei Wang OncoImmunology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Targeting archetypes of viral-driven cancers with immunotherapy: a perspective on immunogenicity within the tumor microenvironment Keene Lee, Seohyun Kim, Junzhe Zhao, Shi Yong Neo Frontiers in Immunology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
T cells engineered to carry a high-affinity HBV-specific T cell receptor: a potent weapon against advanced HBV-related HCC Robert Thimme, Christoph Neumann-Haefelin Gut.2025; : gutjnl-2025-336452. CrossRef
Do the therapeutic vaccines hold hope for the treatment of hepatitis B? Qiujing Yan, Xinghuan Fu, Yan Wang, Guiqiang Wang Hepatology International.2025; 19(6): 1320. CrossRef
A highly selective TCR-mimic antibody reveals unexpected mechanisms of HBV peptide-MHC recognition and previously unknown target biology Shahzada Khan, Jeremy Lum, Heather Stephenson, Pawan Bir Kohli, David Mortenson, Dhivya Ramakrishnan, Magdeleine Hung, Sheng Ding, Elbert Seto, Sabrina Lu, Randy Yen, Debi Jin, Brian Lee, Sheila Clancy, Nicole Schirle Oakdale, Nikolai Novikov, Don Kang, R mAbs.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Combination therapies for chronic hepatitis B in the era of emerging novel drugs Dandan Weng, Chenxi Zhang, Qunyan Wei, Lukan Zhang, Xinya Zang, Guancheng Huang, Zhujun Cao, Qing Xie Hepatology International.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
CRISPR: a precise genome editing strategy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma Subhrojyoti Mukherjee, Manish Kumar Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy.2025; : 1. CrossRef
Recent Advances in Immune-based Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Kyung Won Park, Tae Hoon Park, Eun Ji Jang, Pil Soo Sung Journal of Digestive Cancer Research.2024; 12(2): 115. CrossRef
Engineering HBV-specific T cells for the treatment of HBV-related HCC and HBV infection: Past, Present, and Future. Editorial on “Genetically-modified, redirected T cells target hepatitis B surface antigen-positive hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcin Antonio Bertoletti, Anthony T Tan Clinical and Molecular Hepatology.2024; 30(4): 728. CrossRef
First
Prev
