The goal of this study is to translate laboratory findings that Quercetin, a bioflavonoid, is safe and has antiviral activity in people with hepatitis C.
Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) is a serious chronic condition in the United States affecting millions of people and is the cause of rates of hepatocellular carcinoma recently doubling in the US. Treatment of hepatitis C is proven to be an effective secondary prevention of liver cancer. Current standard antiviral treatments exclude 70-80% of hepatitis C patients from therapies due to intolerable side effects. Our laboratory efforts identified a potential novel approach to hepatitis C treatment and hepatocellular carcinoma prevention with Quercetin, a heat shock protein inhibitor. This is a Phase I study evaluating the safety and tolerability of Quercetin in hepatitis C patients who have contraindications to standard antiviral treatment (both treatment naïve patients who decline standard therapy, patients who previously had standard treatments with relapse, as well as those who had intolerable side effects previously). The investigators recently demonstrated that the flavonoid Quercetin inhibits hepatitis C viral production in tissue culture, at least partially through its inhibition of heat shock protein expression. This represents a novel mechanism for treating hepatitis C infection. Quercetin also has low toxicity. These promising characteristics motivate the proposed Phase I study. Patients will be recruited through the UCLA Pfleger Liver Institute and treated on an outpatient basis. Toxicity will be closely monitored and reported. Viral load response will be evaluated as a secondary endpoint. The anticipated total number of patients enrolled in the trial will be 20. All patients will be followed for 8 months after taking this first dose of study medication. Patients exhibiting a viral load response will have extended follow-up, ranging from a total follow-up of 12-24 months, to determine persistence of this response.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
34
Bioflavonoid
UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Factor Building
Los Angeles, California, United States
Adverse Event Score Assessment of Quercetin Given over 28 days in hepatitis C patients who have contraindications to standard antiviral treatment
Primary outcome for the study will be safety. The investigators will track various laboratory parameters including viral loads and see patients every 2 weeks during our drug phase which is 28 days. After that follow patients every month to see how long antiviral activity will persist if we do see a positive outcome.
Time frame: up to 32 weeks
Hepatitis C Viral Load Assessment with Quercetin Given Over 28 days
Hepatitis C viral load will be monitored every 2 wks during the first 28 days when patients are taking Quercetin. After this period, if there is a positive antiviral activity that is seen, we continue to monitor viral load every month to see how long this effect will last.
Time frame: 28 days during drug phase. Possibly this could go further for 32 weeks.
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