In our study, we could confirm those previous findings by several observations: (1) CK-18 levels clearly decreased after successful DAA treatment across all fibrosis stages (ref. Figs. 2 and 4B); (2) CK-18 decreased even in patients with cirrhosis (ref. Fig. 4B); and (3) the correlation of CK-18 with VCTE values strongly decreased after treatment (ref. Figs. 3 and 4B). Here, KRT18 is linked to Cirrhosis.