Disclosed is a method for predicting early viral load reduction of a human subject infected with HCV to interferon-free treatment that comprises at least one direct acting antiviral agent, comprising: providing a sample from said human subject and identifying the nucleotide present at single nucleotide polymorphism rs12979860, wherein the presence of two C alleles at rs12979860 in said subject indicates a higher likelihood of early viral load reduction from said interferon-free treatment relative to a subject without two C alleles present at rs12979860.
