title: [Treatment of hepatitis C: what is known?].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Treatment of hepatitis C is changing dramatically. Various new direct-acting antivirals (DAA) against HCV have recently been approved or will become available during the next months.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To summarize the efficacy of DAAs and to describe optimal treatment regimens for chronic hepatitis C.
  
  
  METHODS
  Review of selected phase 2 and 3 trials investigating anti-HCV drugs and recent HCV guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  New HCV therapies are interferon-free and lead to sustained HCV clearance in >90% of cases. DAAs include HCV protease inhibitors, NS5A inhibitors as well as nucleotide and non-nucleoside HCV polymerase inhibitors. Depending on the stage of liver disease, HCV genotype and viral load, treatment duration is 8-24 weeks. Ribavirin is not needed anymore in every case. Resistance against HCV drugs is not a major factor determining treatment response, but resistance testing is recommended in case of treatment failures before re-treatment is considered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chronic hepatitis C is a curable disease. It remains to be determined to what extent HCV clearance will alter liver function and the risk for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with liver cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Gastroenterologie, Hepatologie und Endokrinologie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30623, Hannover, Deutschland, wedemeyer.heiner@mh-hannover.de.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wedemeyer
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000145:classification; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D055552:Infectious Disease Medicine / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents