title: Effect of treatment with interferon alpha-2b and ribavirin in patients infected with genotype 2 hepatitis C virus.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nearly 20% of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients with genotype 2 hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are not curable, even by interferon (IFN)-ribavirin combination therapy. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors that determine the efficacy of combination therapy in patients with genotype 2 HCV infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty patients with CHC who underwent a treatment of 6 MU IFN alpha-2b with ribavirin for 24 weeks were retrospectively analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the patients showed no serum HCV-RNA within 12 weeks after starting the therapy. Forty-one of the 50 patients (82%) achieved a sustained virological response (SVR). The age, sex, genotype (2a vs. 2b) and grade/stage of the liver by histopathology and pretreatment viral load werenot different between the sustained responders and relapsers. Univariate analysis showed that an earlier viral clearance from blood and a larger number of amino acid substitutions in the interferon sensitivity determining region (ISDR) were predictors of SVR. Multivariate analysis showed that a large number of amino acid substitutions in the ISDR was a predictor of SVR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The characterization of the amino acid sequences of ISDR may be helpful for predicting a relapse after combination therapy in patients with genotype 2 HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, St Marianna University, Kawasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagase
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yotsuyanagi
authors.forename: Chiaki
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Okuse
authors.forename: Kiyomi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Michihiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Kusuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishioka
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iino
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Itoh