Clinical course of hepatitis in HCV
Most acute HCV infections are asymptomatic. More than 60% of acute infections, however, lead to chronic hepatitis, and this latter group will progress to cirrhosis in roughly 30% of cases (with a subset that may progress to hepatocellular carcinoma). It is estimated that 60% to 80% of untreated patients with HCV-associated cirrhosis will die of liver-related causes.
