Short interferon and ribavirin treatment for HCV genotype 2 or 3 infection: NORDynamIC trial and real-life experience.

OBJECTIVE: Interferon-free therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is costly, and therefore patients with advanced fibrosis are prioritized. Although coupled with considerable side effects, a large proportion of genotype 2/3 infected patients achieve a sustained virological response (SVR) following interferon-based therapy. The present study evaluates experimental clinical trial and verifying real-life data with the aim of identifying patients with a high likelihood of favorable outcome following short interferon-based treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The impact of established response predictors, e.g. age, ITPA and IL28B genetic variants, IP-10, liver histopathology and early viral kinetics on outcome was evaluated among HCV genotype 2/3 infected patients enrolled in the NORDynamIC trial. Similarly outcome was evaluated among Finnish and Swedish real-life genotype 2/3 infected patients treated for 12-16 weeks in accordance with national guidelines. RESULTS: In the NORDynamIC trial, age < 40 years or achieving HCV RNA < 1000 IU/mL day 7 were highly predictive of favorable outcome following 12 weeks therapy. Among 255 Finnish real-life patients below the age of 40 years treated for 12 weeks with interferon and ribavirin, 87% of HCV genotype 2 and 79% of genotype 3 infected patients achieved SVR, and among 117 Swedish real-life patients treated for 12-16 weeks, 97% of HCV genotype 2 and 94% of genotype 3 infected achieved SVR. CONCLUSIONS: Short interferon-based therapy offers a high likelihood of achieving SVR for selected HCV genotype 2/3 infected patients, and is an acceptable option given that a thorough discussion of the side effects is provided prior to initiation.

Retreatment with peg-interferon and ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 2 or 3 infection with prior relapse.

OBJECTIVES: Uncertainty remains regarding the efficacy of retreatment with current standard-of-care peg-interferon (peg-IFN) and ribavirin among patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 2 or 3 with relapse after prior therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-one patients with chronic HCV genotype 2/3 with prior relapse were enrolled in a phase III multicenter study. Patients were retreated with peg-IFNα-2a 180 µg per week and ribavirin 1000/1200 mg daily. Patients having received previous therapy for 24 weeks were retreated for 48 weeks (Group A), whereas patients having received at least 12 weeks but less than 24 weeks of treatment were allocated to either 48 (Group B) or 24 weeks (Group C) on the basis of whether they had achieved rapid virological response (RVR). RESULTS: Sustained virological response (SVR) rates of 53%, 81% and 75% were achieved in groups A, B and C, respectively. Patients with favorable baseline characteristics, e.g., less advanced liver fibrosis, age <40 years, duration of infection <20 years, or BMI < 25 kg/m(2), tended to have more favorable outcomes. All patients achieving HCV RNA below 1000 IU/mL day 6 achieved SVR in contrast to none of the patients with detectable HCV RNA at week 12. CONCLUSIONS: Retreatment with peg-IFN and ribavirin for 24-48 weeks entails SVR among the majority of HCV genotype 2/3 infected patients with prior relapse. However, in light of the prolonged treatment duration, moderate effect and considerable side effects, deterring therapy until new options are available may be preferential, particularly in patients previously treated for 24 weeks.

Randomized Trial Evaluating the Impact of Ribavirin Mono-Therapy and Double Dosing on Viral Kinetics, Ribavirin Pharmacokinetics and Anemia in Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 1 Infection.

In this pilot study (RibaC), 58 hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infected treatment-naïve patients were randomized to (i) 2 weeks ribavirin double dosing concomitant with pegylated interferon-α (pegIFN-α), (ii) 4 weeks ribavirin mono-therapy prior to adding pegIFN-α, or (iii) standard-of-care (SOC) ribavirin dosing concurrent with pegIFN-α. Four weeks of ribavirin mono-therapy resulted in a mean 0.46 log(10) IU/mL HCV RNA reduction differentially regulated across IL28B genotypes (0.89 vs. 0.21 log(10) IU/mL for CC and CT/TT respectively; P = 0.006), increased likelihood of undetectable HCV RNA week 4 after initiating pegIFN-α and thus shortened treatment duration (P<0.05), and decreased median IP-10 concentration from 550 to 345 pg/mL (P<0.001). Both experimental strategies impacted on ribavirin concentrations, and high levels were achieved after one week of double dosing. However, by day 14, double dosing entailed a greater hemoglobin decline as compared to SOC (2.2 vs. 1.4 g/dL; P = 0.03). Conclusion: Ribavirin down-regulates IP-10, and may have an anti-viral effect differently regulated across IL28B genotypes.