| [ Summary ] |
Though Interferon (IFN) therapy has a high level of efficacy in treatment of chronic hepatitis C, there are several limitations to antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C. The overall rates of sustained virologic response achieved by IFN with 6~10 MIU induction dosing on a, 6 to 12 month regimen were seen to be about 30%. The proportions of sustained virologic response in patients with high viral load and hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1b are less than 10%.This indicates that we need additional regimens such as combination therapy with IFN and rivabirin or prolonged IFN administration. However, standard interferon therapy alone (6~10 MIU, and 6 months) is useful for patients with low viral loads and non-HCV genotype 1b. Thus, we should use IFN in consideration of the viral and host factors in each patient. |