Effect of combination therapy with ribavirin and high-dose interferon-α2b for 24 weeks in chronic hepatitis C

Background and Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine whether a 24-week course of combination therapy with ribavirin and high-dose interferon-alpha 2b (IFN-alpha 2b) could provide an acceptable treatment efficacy in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Methods: Seventy-six patients with CHC whose serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels were more than 100 kIU/mL on quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay were included. The patients were assigned to two different dose groups of IFN-alpha 2b: group A (n = 39) received 6 MU and group B (n = 37) received 10 MU. Each group received the dose daily for 14 days then three times per week for a total of 24 weeks. In addition, HCV genotype 1b patients in group A and group B were classified into group C (n = 20) and D (n = 29), respectively. All patients received 600 or 800 mg ribavirin per day. Results: Sustained response rates in group A were significantly higher than those in group B (66.7% vs 35.1%, intent-to-treat, P = 0.0060). However, sustained response rates in group C were not different from those in group D (45.0% vs 20.7%, intent-to-treat, P = 0.0696). The proportion of patients who discontinued the treatment or reduced drug dosage because of adverse events was significantly higher in group B than in group A (27.0% vs 7.69%, P = 0.0224). Conclusion: A 24-week course of combination therapy with ribavirin and 6 MU IFN-alpha 2b had an acceptable efficacy with fewer adverse events than that with ribavirin and 10 MU IFN-alpha 2b in CHC. (C) 2006 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.