| [ Summary ] |
Two control trials of peginterferon (PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C virus infection treatment, in western countries, were reviewed. Among patients with genotype 1 and high base-line levels of HCV RNA, proportions of those with sustained virologic response were around 45% with 48 weeks of PEG-IFN plus ribavirin therapy. Negative serum HCV RNA levels after 12 weeks of therapy were good predictive factors for sustained virologic response, however, 32% of patients have sustained responses, even if serum levels of HCV RNA become negative after 24 weeks of therapy. The overall safety profiles of this combination therapy were similar to IFN monotherapy and IFNα plus ribavirin therapy. |