Favorable factors for re-treatment with pegylated interferon α2a plus ribavirin in patients with high viral loads of genotype 1 hepatitis C virus.
Hepatol Res
; 41(12): 1169-77, 2011 Dec.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21951389
ABSTRACT
AIM:
Effect of re-treatment for pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) plus ribavirin was not fully evaluated. We examined the effects of re-treatment with PEG-IFN plus ribavirin in patients with high viral loads of genotype 1 hepatitis C virus who failed to achieve a sustained virological response (SVR) with combination therapy.METHODS:
We examined 38 patients who were re-treated with PEG-IFN α2a plus ribavirin for more than 60 weeks, among whom 14 were non-responders and 24 were relapsers after previous treatment with PEG-IFN α2b plus ribavirin. IL28B genotyping was done in 21 patients.RESULTS:
The overall SVR rate was 34%. Analysis of baseline characteristics showed that the relapsers had a significantly higher SVR rate than the non-responders (50.0%, 12/24 vs. 7.1%, 1/14, respectively, P = 0.012) The SVR rates of re-treated patients who had turned hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA-negative at weeks 8, 12, 24, and 48 of the previous therapy were 67% (4/6), 67% (4/6), 29% (2/7), and 25% (1/4), respectively. Re-treatment achieved an SVR in five of 12 patients with IL28B major alleles and three of nine patients with IL28B minor alleles. During the re-treatment, patients with complete viral suppression at week-12 achieved a significantly higher SVR rate (P = 0.001).CONCLUSIONS:
Re-treatment with PEG-IFN α2a plus ribavirin therapy is effective in patients who relapse after a course of PEG-IFN α2b plus ribavirin therapy. Re-treatment is a particularly useful option for patients who achieve early viral clearance during previous therapy.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Hepatol Res
Year:
2011
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Japan