title: Extracorporeal photopheresis alone and with interferon-alpha2a in chronic hepatitis C patients who failed previous interferon therapy.
abstract: Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is approved for treatment of cutaneous, T-cell lymphoma. Evidence suggests that ECP can induce an immune response against tumor antigens expressed by malignant T lymphocytes. We theorized that if HCV-infected PBMCs express viral antigens, ECP could demonstrate antiviral activity by eliciting an immune response against these antigens. Fifteen cirrhotic patients with genotype-1 HCV, who had previously relapsed or not responded to interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy were stratified by their HCV RNA titer into one of three treatment groups: (1) ECP alone, (2) ECP + 3 MIU IFN-alpha2a subcutaneously three times a week and (3) ECP + 6 MIU IFN-alpha2a subcutaneously three times a week. All patients received treatment for 24 weeks. Group 1 had no significant decrease in HCV RNA. Two patients in group 2 had undetectable HCV RNA at the end of treatment. One patient in group 3 had undetectable HCV RNA at the end of treatment. However, HCV RNA was detected in all three patients during follow-up. ECP alone or with IFN-alpha was well tolerated. ECP alone demonstrated no clear antiviral activity. The combination of ECP and IFN-alpha resulted in an end-of-treatment response (ETR) in three of 10 patients. All responders had elimination of serum HCV RNA by three months, although no patient had a sustained response. More intensive therapy for a longer duration may result in sustained responses. A multicenter trial is now underway.
authors.affiliation: Center for Liver Diseases, University of Miami, Florida 33136, USA.
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Henzel
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Moonka
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Inverso
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rook
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017893:Photopheresis; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins