title: Perspectives and challenges of interferon-free therapy for chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Recent data have clearly shown that a sustained virologic response can be achieved in different HCV infected patient populations with various interferon-free treatment regimens. Despite the successful implementation of telaprevir- and boceprevir-based triple therapies, all-oral regimens will certainly become a first choice for a number of HCV-infected patients in the very near future, as triple therapy approaches are burdened with significant side-effects and limited success in patients with advanced liver fibrosis and prior null-response to pegylated interferon-α (pegIFN-α)/ribavirin therapy. However, available data from phase I and II clinical trials evaluating interferon-free regimens have not yet revealed a clearly outstanding all-oral combination, and numerous challenges remain to be addressed by intensive ongoing and future research. In particular, thus far evaluated all-oral regimens did not cure a satisfactory percentage of patients with unfavorable baseline characteristics, namely patients infected with HCV genotype 1a, previous null-response to pegIFN-α/ribavirin, or liver cirrhosis. In this review, we summarize available data of interferon-free regimens for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C and assess implications for perspectives and challenges in the further development of all-oral therapies.
authors.affiliation: Klinikum der J W Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Medizinische Klinik 1, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. christian.lange@kgu.de
authors.forename: Christian M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zeuzem
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D021983:Cyclophilins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase
chemical_list: D021983:Cyclophilins; D017361:Viral Nonstructural Proteins; C084422:NS3 protein, hepatitis C virus; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; D043583:Nucleoside-Triphosphatase; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases; D000085242:Viral Proteases; C087036:NS-5 protein, hepatitis C virus; D012324:RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase