Ask the Experts - Data on Pegylated Interferon alfa and Ribavirin for...
Ask the Experts - Data on Pegylated Interferon alfa and Ribavirin for...
Are there studies of pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin for the treatment of patients with type 1a hepatitis C virus infection?
There is limited information published about the combination of pegylated interferon and ribavirin for treatment of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. There have been 3 studies of pegylated interferon alfa-2a alone in this setting. Two of these studies evaluated therapy of noncirrhotic patients with HCV infection, and 1 evaluated treatment of patients with HCV-induced cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis. All of the studies compared pegylated interferon alfa-2a with conventional interferon alfa. These investigations also included patients with HCV genotype 1 infection (56% to 82% of the patients studied), and all showed that the overall outcome of those treated with pegylated interferon alfa was significantly improved over that achieved with conventional interferon alfa alone. Similarly, the response for those with type 1 infection was better with the pegylated interferon.
A dose-ranging study of pegylated interferon alfa-2b and ribavirin has been reported. In this study, patients were treated for 24 weeks and those who received combination therapy had greater loss of HCV RNA both at end of therapy and 6 months after therapy was discontinued. Treatment response of type 1 patients was not specifically described. At the October 2000 annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases held in Dallas, Texas, an international open-label trial of pegylated interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin indicated an overall response of 42% for type 1 HCV patients treated with pegylated interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin, compared with a 33% response for those treated with conventional interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin.
Additional studies are clearly needed. Still, because of overall improvement reported in these early trials, it would appear that combination therapy with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin could become the treatment of choice when it is available.
Are there studies of pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin for the treatment of patients with type 1a hepatitis C virus infection?
There is limited information published about the combination of pegylated interferon and ribavirin for treatment of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. There have been 3 studies of pegylated interferon alfa-2a alone in this setting. Two of these studies evaluated therapy of noncirrhotic patients with HCV infection, and 1 evaluated treatment of patients with HCV-induced cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis. All of the studies compared pegylated interferon alfa-2a with conventional interferon alfa. These investigations also included patients with HCV genotype 1 infection (56% to 82% of the patients studied), and all showed that the overall outcome of those treated with pegylated interferon alfa was significantly improved over that achieved with conventional interferon alfa alone. Similarly, the response for those with type 1 infection was better with the pegylated interferon.
A dose-ranging study of pegylated interferon alfa-2b and ribavirin has been reported. In this study, patients were treated for 24 weeks and those who received combination therapy had greater loss of HCV RNA both at end of therapy and 6 months after therapy was discontinued. Treatment response of type 1 patients was not specifically described. At the October 2000 annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases held in Dallas, Texas, an international open-label trial of pegylated interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin indicated an overall response of 42% for type 1 HCV patients treated with pegylated interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin, compared with a 33% response for those treated with conventional interferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin.
Additional studies are clearly needed. Still, because of overall improvement reported in these early trials, it would appear that combination therapy with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin could become the treatment of choice when it is available.
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