Long-term pegylated interferon monotherapy following 72 weeks of pegylated interferon and ribavirin in hepatitis C virus genotype-1-infected slow responders.
OBJECTIVE
Slow responders to pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) among patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 may benefit from an extended treatment course. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of persistent negative serum HCV RNA over 96 weeks during long-term Peg-IFN monotherapy following 72 weeks of combination therapy.


METHODS
A total of 46 HCV genotype 1-infected slow responders were treated for 72 weeks with Peg-IFN and RBV combination therapy alone (n=25) or additional long-term biweekly treatment with 90 μg of Peg-IFN-α2a (n=21). The criterion for the completion of long-term Peg-IFN monotherapy was defined as the attainment of constantly negative HCV RNA in the serum over 96 weeks during IFN treatment.


RESULTS
The patients with sustained negative serum HCV RNA during 96 weeks of IFN treatment had a higher rate of sustained virological response (SVR) than those without (81 vs. 40%, p=0.012). A multivariate analysis identified sustained negativity of serum HCV RNA over 96 weeks of IFN treatment to be a predictive factor for SVR.


CONCLUSIONS
In the present study, sustained negative serum HCV RNA over 96 weeks during long-term Peg-IFN monotherapy following 72 weeks of combination therapy of Peg-IFN and RBV resulted in beneficial virological outcomes among HCV genotype 1-infected slow responders.
Division of Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine 2, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Japan.
Shinya
S
Watanabe
Yoshimasa
Y
Kobayashi
Kazuhito
K
Kawata
Hidenao
H
Noritake
Takeshi
T
Chida
Masamichi
M
Nagasawa
Fujito
F
Kageyama
Kinya
K
Kawamura
Yuzo
Y
Sasada
Takafumi
T
Suda
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000187:drug effects*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007372:Interferons / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019562:Viral Load
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; D007372:Interferons; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a