| [ Summary ] |
Eradication rates for HCV concomitantly with adverse events with ribavirin and interferon (IFN) alfa-2b combination therapy over twenty four weeks were analyzed in randomized controlled trials in Japan. Viral eradication rates for genotype 1b infection with high viral loads were found to be 20%, which was significantly higher than IFN monotherapy. Viraleradication was observed in 75% of the patients excluding genotype 1b, with high viral loads usingcombination therapy. When HCV RNA was analyzed after initiating combination treatment, the negative predictive value was 92.6%, suggesting that sustained virological response may be obtained in 7 to 8% of the patients. Sustained virological response was observed in 4% of the patients in whom plasma HCV RNA first became undetectable after twelve weeks of treatment. Evaluation of HCV dynamics revealed significant improvement in the second phase, using combination therapy compared to IFN monotherapy. From these results, ribavirin has been suggested to have additional positive effects in eradicationg virus-infected hepatocytes in patients with chronic hepatitis C. |