TOPIC: viral load test

Hey!

This is life! I had the same, first under 12 and afterwards under 30!!! I was freaking out! Now undetected...don't worry! Just stick to the right place to get yourself tested!!! Very important!jeanmarc wrote:

Doh - I kinda 'got' the VL testing thing, but now I'm all confused again !

Will ask for the simple version again 4 weeks into treatment, to make sure GP does the right test & and so I can understand the results

Hi Jeanmarc,

Any news from the lab?

Hi
so, yesterday I finally decided to go to Bangkok to consult a doctor and I also wanted to have some more exam ,like a fibroscan ...
I went ,this morning ,to the Bangkok hospital ,one of the most recommended hospital of Thailand.I saw a doctor ,told him my story with the treatment by twinvir and show him my lab results and then with no hesitation he told me that these results mean a no detected and also that I don't need to spend money ,now, for more exam !He told me to wait the end of my treatment before to make a full check up .
That's a good new!
At the end ,the doctor asked me all information about the way I could get the twinvir in Bangladesh and told me he will recommend his patients to follow the same way !!!
Thank everybody on this forum for your support

Thats good news Jeanmarc, yep wait till 12 weeks after finish treatment that should give you a good idea if it's gone then again @ 6 months.

So, to recap;
1. You should have a complete liver function test and RNA Quantitative just before beginning treatment.
2. You should have a complete liver function test and RNA Quantitative at around 2-4 weeks.
3. Then just an RNA Qualitative at say, EOT.
4. Then an RNA Qualitative at 12 weeks after EOT.
5. Then one more just to be sure at 24 weeks.
Is this right?

I would skip the RNA Qualitative test , if your clear at 2-4 weeks should still be clear at EOT. Do the 12 and 24 week ones though.

Right on.

Congratulations on achieving Undetected, jeanmarc!

It must be a huge relief after all the worrying about what the tests meant!

I told you Jeanmarc,

The lab have saved the money by doing only quantitative. <12 means UND

Enkel wrote:
I think he needs to have this looked at as best I know 12 suggests they can not say for sure you're undetected
it simply means the virus is too low to quantify.

I know, a chap who was 12 all the way through treatment at week 12 post treatment he was back
detected. Id double check to be sure.

Note; I thought prior to starting treatment everyone would be non detected by week 4 at the latest you can imagine
I was some what taken a back to find out at week 5 plus I'd a VL of 17 therefore my chances are lower I will be UD by week 12.

Gilead disregarded all VL testing during the trials for this reason. At week 2/4/6/8/10/12 if you're in the easy Geno types
if you're UN not 12 UD you've a 99% chance six months post treatment you're cured.

In fact at EOT 12 can turn out to be cured six months post treatment.

But, if you're 12 all the way through its possible you need to extend treatment due to resistance,suggesting you're
UD at 12 is not factual.

My point is this not everyone clears at week 2 telling them the lab is wrong is not always factual
or correct patients need to understand what these tests mean not what we think they mean.

The way I understand it, 'Quantitative' testing determines the actual number per ml of bloodborne virus. However, it is only accurate between 12 and 10,000,000. The 'Qualitative' testing is far more accurate, but can only determine present/not present. So you use quantitative to see how you're doing until <12, then do qualitative to see if it goes all the way down to undetected. (zero). Dr. Freeman?

I agree with Sirchinenge,

But the labs should be more professional and give better interpretation by writing the words Detected or Undetected.

Investigating many patients cured at others forums, being UND or < LLOQ (<15) is insignificant. Even patients that have been detected at EOT but < LLOQ have been cured. At the time of trials with Harvoni the LLOQ have been 25 IU/ml, now they have updated to 25 and 15.
Other patients on Harvoni have been UND at 4 weeks and then detected at 6 weeks followed with UND at 8 weeks and still cured with three months treatment.

From Gilead Page:
HARVONI was administered once daily by mouth in these trials. For subjects who received ribavirin (RBV), the RBV dosage was 1000 mg per day for subjects weighing less than 75 kg or 1200 mg per day for subjects weighing at least 75 kg. RBV dose adjustments were performed according to the RBV labeling. Serum HCV RNA values were measured during the clinical trials using the COBAS TaqMan HCV test (version 2.0), for use with the High Pure System in ION-3, ION-1, ION-2, SIRIUS and ION-4 studies or the COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS Taqman HCV test (version 2.0) in ELECTRON-2, and 1119. The COBAS TaqMan HCV test (version 2.0) for use with the High Pure System has a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of 25 IU per mL and the COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS Taqman HCV test (version 2.0) has a LLOQ of 15 IU per mL. Sustained virologic response (SVR12) was the primary endpoint and was defined as HCV RNA less than LLOQ at 12 weeks after the cessation of treatment. Relapse was a secondary endpoint, which was defined as HCV RNA greater than or equal to LLOQ with 2 consecutive values or last available post-treatment measurement during the post-treatment period after achieving HCV RNA less than LLOQ at end of treatment.

Hello
just receive my test result of EOT by twinvir 3 months.
This time is clearly written down NOT DETECTED and all my liver function normal.Next test in 6 months.
I wish for everybody the best results
thanks everybody on this forum for all those helpful support