title: Recent trends in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Pegylated interferon and ribavirin combination therapy is accepted as the standard antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C regardless of HCV genotype. This combination therapy achieves higher response rates than previous therapy, but, nevertheless, a large proportion of patients suffer from treatment failure or adverse events. Recent clinical studies of viral kinetics during antiviral treatment have led to the introduction of response-guided therapy, the concept of 'customized therapy depending on viral response', which focuses on modulation of the treatment period depending on the viral response to create a sustained viral response without unnecessary medication and costs. New upcoming direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) maximize response rate, and triple therapy including DAAs along with pegylated interferon and ribavirin combination therapy could soon be the standard therapy. In this article, we reviewed the factors affecting treatment, response guided treatment, retreatment after failure of standard treatment, management of adverse events during treatment, and new treatment options.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dae Won
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.forename: Won Young
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Tak
authors.forename: Si Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Youn Jae
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000743:Anemia, Hemolytic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D057285:Precision Medicine; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011480:Protease Inhibitors; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004921:Erythropoietin; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; C417083:peginterferon alfa-2b; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a