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| |  Peginterferon Alfa-2a Plus Ribavirin Safe and Effective In Patients With Both Hepatitis C and B: Presented at AASLD By Maria Bishop BOSTON, MA -- November 7, 2007 -- Combination therapy of peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) and ribavirin (Copegus) appears to be safe and effective for treatment of patients dually infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV), researchers reported here at the 58th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD). Overall, 207 patients infected with HCV genotype 1 received 48 weeks of combination therapy with peginterferon alfa-2a 180 ug weekly plus daily ribavirin 1000-1200 mg, noted lead author Chun-Jen Liu, MD, PhD, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Non-1 genotype patients (n = 114) received a 24-week combination therapy of peginterferon alfa-2a 180 ug weekly plus daily ribavirin 800 mg. The primary efficacy parameter was sustained virological response (HCV ribonucleic acid [RNA] response) at 24 weeks post-treatment. A total of 26 patients were withdrawn early from the study, mainly due to non-compliance and skin lesions. In 85 of the most difficult-to-treat patients -- dually infected with HCV genotype 1 and HBV -- a sustained HCV clearance rate of 73% was achieved at 24 weeks post-treatment. In general, there was little difference between HCV response rates between genotype 1 and non-1 infected patients at end of treatment (72 weeks) and at 24 weeks. HBV virologic response was observed in 56% of the 161 patients with dual HCV/HBV infection. Importantly, HbsAg clearance was observed in 10% of these dually-infected patients, noted Dr. Liu, which is an important indicator of long-term treatment success. The majority of HCV genotype 1-infected patients with dual HCV/HBV infection achieved a biochemical response (62%) after 24 weeks of treatment-free follow-up, and an even higher rate of HCV clearance was achieved in HCV mono-infected patients (70%).
[Presentation title: An Open Label, Comparative, Multicenter Study Of Peginterferon Alfa-2a Plus Ribavirin in The Treatment Of Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C/Hepatitis B Co-Infection Versus Those With Chronic Hepatitis C Monoinfection. Abstract 233]
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