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Copyright ©2008 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 21, 2008; 14(47): 7225-7230
Published online Dec 21, 2008. doi: 10.3748/wjg.14.7225
Pegylated interferon plus ribavirin for genotype Ib chronic hepatitis C in Japan
Takayuki Kogure, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Koji Fukushima, Futoshi Nagasaki, Yasuteru Kondo, Jun Inoue, Yasunori Matsuda, Eiji Kakazu, Takeshi Yamamoto, Hiroyoshi Onodera, Yutaka Miyazaki, Hiromasa Okamoto, Takehiro Akahane, Tomoo Kobayashi, Yutaka Mano, Takao Iwasaki, Motoyasu Ishii, Tooru Shimosegawa
Takayuki Kogure, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Koji Fukushima, Futoshi Nagasaki, Yasuteru Kondo, Jun Inoue, Yasunori Matsuda, Eiji Kakazu, Takao Iwasaki, Tooru Shimosegawa, Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, Sendai 980-8574, Japan
Takeshi Yamamoto, Department of Gastroenterology, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai 980-8574, Japan
Hiroyoshi Onodera, Department of Gastroenterology, Miyagi Cancer Center, Natori 981-1293, Japan
Yutaka Miyazaki, Department of Internal Medicine, Tohoku Kosai Hospital, Sendai 980-0803, Japan
Hiromasa Okamoto, Department of Internal Medicine, Shirakawa Kosei General Hospital, Shirakawa 961-0005, Japan
Takehiro Akahane, Department of Gastroenterology, Ishinomaki Municipal Hospital, Ishinomaki 986-0835, Japan
Tomoo Kobayashi, Department of Gastroenterology, Osaki Citizen Hospital, Furukawa 989-6183, Japan
Yutaka Mano, Department of Gastroenterology, Sendai Medical Center, Sendai 983-8520, Japan
Motoyasu Ishii, Department of Internal Medicine, Miyagi Social Insurance Hospital, Sendai 981-1103, Japan
Author contributions: Kogure T and Ueno Y participated in the treatment of patients, analyzing the data and writing the manuscript; Matsuda Y participated in the treatment of patients and collecting the data; Nagasaki F, Kondo Y, Inoue J and Shimosegawa T participated in the treatment of patients; Other authors contributed to data collection and patient treatments at their respective facilities.
Supported by A grant-in-aid from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (Study Group of the Standard Antiviral Therapy for Viral Hepatitis)
Correspondence to: Yoshiyuki Ueno, MD, PhD, Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Hospital, 1-1, Seiryo, Aobaku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan. yueno@mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-22-7177171 Fax: +81-22-7177177
Received: May 28, 2008
Revised: October 31, 2008
Accepted: November 7, 2008
Published online: December 21, 2008
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of pegylated interferon α-2b (peg-IFNα-2b) plus ribavirin (RBV) therapy in Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) genotype Ib and a high viral load.

METHODS: One hundred and twenty CHC patients (58.3% male) who received peg-IFNα-2b plus RBV therapy for 48 wk were enrolled. Sustained virological response (SVR) and clinical parameters were evaluated.

RESULTS: One hundred (83.3%) of 120 patients completed 48 wk of treatment. 53 patients (44.3%) achieved SVR. Early virological response (EVR) and end of treatment response (ETR) rates were 50% and 73.3%, respectively. The clinical parameters (SVR vs non-SVR) associated with SVR, ALT (108.4 IU/L vs 74.5 IU/L, P = 0.063), EVR (76.4% vs 16.4%, P < 0.0001), adherence to peg-IFN (≥ 80% of planned dose) at week 12 (48.1% vs 13.6%, P = 0.00036), adherence to peg-IFN at week 48 (54.7% vs 16.2%, P < 0.0001) and adherence to RBV at week 48 (56.1% vs 32.1%, P = 0.0102) were determined using univariate analysis, and EVR and adherence to peg-IFN at week 48 were determined using multivariate analysis. In the older patient group (> 56 years), SVR in females was significantly lower than that in males (17% vs 50%, P = 0.0262). EVR and adherence to Peg-IFN were demonstrated to be the main factors associated with SVR.

CONCLUSION: Peg-IFNα-2b plus RBV combination therapy demonstrated good tolerability in Japanese patients with CHC and resulted in a SVR rate of 44.3%. Treatment of elderly female patients is still challenging and maintenance of adherence to peg-IFNα-2b is important in improving the SVR rate.

Keywords: Chronic hepatitis C; Pegylated interferon; Ribavirin