title: Raising the dose of interferon does not improve the response in chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: We report results of dose escalation to 5 or 6 million units (MU) three times weekly (t.i.w.) of interferon-alpha in 17 consecutive patients with chronic active hepatitis C who were not responding to 3 MU t.i.w. after > or = 12 weeks of therapy. The mean pretreatment alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level was 206 +/- 62 U/L and, at the time of dose escalation, 113 +/- 71 U/L. Two patients could not tolerate the dose escalation. The remaining 15 patients were treated for an additional 10 +/- 3.5 weeks. Three patients had a complete response 3-8 weeks after dose escalation. At the end of high-dose therapy, the mean ALT level was 105 +/- 76 U/L (n = 15). During the 6-month posttreatment follow-up time, the mean ALT level was 147 +/- 85 U/L. All three responders had a relapse. Increasing the dose of interferon-alpha to 5-6 MU t.i.w. in chronic hepatitis C patients who are not responding to interferon-alpha, 3 MU t.i.w., at the 12th week of therapy is unlikely to result in sustained normalization of ALT levels.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hoefs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects*; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
chemical_list: D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D000410:Alanine Transaminase