Pegylated interferon and ribavirin in re-treatment of responder-relapser HCV patients |
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Authors: | M. Basso F. Torre A. Grasso G. Percario E. Azzola S. Artioli S. Blanchi N. Pelli A. Picciotto |
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Affiliation: | Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Viale Benedetto XV, n. 6, 16132 Genoa, Italy. |
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Abstract: | BACKGROUND: The re-treatment of patients who relapse after a course of standard interferon and ribavirin with pegylated interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin is an open issue. AIMS: To evaluate efficacy and safety of treatment with pegylated interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin and the role of early HCV-RNA assessment as a predictor of sustained response. PATIENTS: Between May 2001 and December 2002, 242 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis C were enrolled in an open, regional, multicentre study. Seventy-eight of them were responder-relapsers to a previous course of combination therapy. METHODS: Patients were treated with pegylated interferon alfa-2b (1 microg/kg/week) plus ribavirin (800-1200 mg daily). Qualitative HCV-RNA was performed at week 2. Genotypes 1-4 were treated for 48 weeks, while genotypes 2 and 3 were treated for 24 weeks. RESULTS: We obtained an overall sustained virological response rate of 41.0% (78.6% for patients with genotypes 2-3). CONCLUSION: This treatment schedule prove to be safe and effective in relapsers with genotype non-1 while genotype 1-4 patients had a low rate of sustained virological response. Qualitative virological assessment after 2 weeks may identify patients who are more likely to reach sustained virological response, but it is not a valid tool for a stopping rule approach. |
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Keywords: | Chronic hepatitis C PEG-Interferon Relapsers Ribavirin |
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