title: Treatment of chronic hepatitis C with interferon-alpha: a preliminary report.
abstract: Interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) has been indicated to be dramatically effective in some but not all patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We investigated prospectively 27 patients of chronic hepatitis C, 12 females and 15 males, treated with IFN-alpha for a better regimen of the therapy and for any effective predictor of response to the treatment. All patients were treated with 3 to 6 million units (MU) of recombinant IFN-alpha 2b (n = 15) or lymphoblastoid IFN-alpha (n = 12) given 3 times weekly for 12 to 36 weeks. Patients with normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) value during therapy, who sustained this response throughout 6 months follow-up after treatment was completed, were grouped into the complete responders. Patients with normal ALT value during therapy but who relapsed after treatment completed, were grouped as partial responders. Non-responders were defined as patients without normal ALT value during therapy. The rates of complete response, partial response, and non-response were 29.6%, 40.8%, and 29.6%, respectively. The degree of response to IFN-alpha therapy was not related to age, sex, type of IFN-alpha, history of blood transfusion, the state of liver pathology, or pretreatment level of ALT value. The complete responsive rate to IFN-alpha was higher in patients treated with total dose above 215 MU [38.1% (8/21) vs. 0% (0/6), p = 0.06], in patients treated for at least 24 weeks [40% (8/20) vs. 0% (0/7), p < 0.05], and in patients with non-genotype 1b/II HCV infection [40% (8/20) vs. 0% (0/7), p < 0.05]. We concluded that IFN-alpha was effective in the treatment of chronic HCV infection, particularly in those other than HCV genotype 1b/II. A high-dose, and long-duration regimen may be recommended for better response of chronic hepatitis C to IFN-alpha therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical College Hospital, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Z Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha