Occurrence of porphyria cutanea tarda during peginterferon/ribavirin therapy for chronic viral hepatitis C

Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is a metabolic disorder characterized by a reduced hepatic activity of uroporphynogen decarboxylase (URO-D), an enzyme of the heme synthesis. The clinical features of PCT may be brought into light by hepatic injury induced by hepatitis C virus (HCV). A significant association between HCV and PCT is well recognized, although the role of HCV in the appearance of PCT is still debated because confounding factors often coexist, such as alcohol, other viruses, drugs or iron overload (Gisbert et al. J Hepatol 2003;39:620–627). HCV therapy may improve PCT although PCT was rarely reported as a de novo occurrence during an interferon/ribavirin therapy (Jessner et al. Hepatology 2002;36:1301–1302); here, we describe two such other cases.