UF researchers find first patient for monumental study

UF Health is leading a group of nearly 45 centers across the country in the largest comparative study ever done on hepatitis C.

UF researchers have just found their first patient, who will undergo a 12-week drug treatment plan throughout the research, known as the Prioritize Study, according to a release.

The study will take place over the next five years and is expected to have 3,750 patients across the nation. UF Health anticipates it will have about 200 participants, said Dr. David Nelson, the principal investigator for the study.

Each participant will randomly receive one of three drugs, and all participants will be given free viral testing, Nelson said.

The trial is funded by a $14.97 million research contract from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute according to the institute’s website. UF, the University of North Carolina, the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins Hospital applied for the grant together in 2015.

Any patient with hepatitis C has an opportunity to participate in the study, Nelson said, which he believes will make the results a more accurate representation of the population.

Aside from discovering which drug works best, Nelson said he hopes the study will help answer more complex questions, such as finding out if the liver improves after the treatment and how the treatment affects the rate of liver cancer.

Hepatitis C currently affects an estimated two percent of the U.S. population, which is about five million to seven million people, Nelson said. The virus is the leading cause of liver cancer and liver transplants, and it causes about 20,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, he said.

Despite the large number of people impacted, Nelson said he feels optimistic for the future of treatment.

“There are just so few diseases we can cure, and this is one of them,” he said.

Summer Wadsworth had hepatitis C for about 25 years. After being cured, she became the co-chairwoman of the patient engagement group that works with Nelson’s research team.

“This is a study for patients, by patients,” Wadsworth said.

She said the trial is not only about testing the effectiveness of the medicine, but also about what is going on in the individual, something she can personally relate to.

“I didn’t know how sick I was until I wasn’t sick anymore,” she said.

With advertisers raising awareness of hepatitis C and with studies uncovering new information, Wadsworth said she believes the virus’ days are numbered.

“I think the push to get people tested and then treated could really have a significant impact on eradication,” Wadsworth said, “and that would be awesome.”