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Treatment choices for people infected with HCV

Silvia Fargion1, Anna Ludovica Fracanzani, Luca Valenti

  • 1Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Ospedale Maggiore IRCCS, Università di Milano, Via F Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy. silvia.fargion@unimi.it

The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
|April 10, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection leads to significant liver disease. Current combination therapy shows high sustained response rates, with new enzyme inhibitors in development for chronic hepatitis C.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Virology
  • Internal Medicine

Background:

  • Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major global cause of liver disease, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
  • HCV infection is the leading indication for liver transplantation worldwide.
  • Effective therapeutic strategies are crucial for reducing morbidity and mortality in HCV-infected patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent advancements in the therapy of chronic hepatitis C.
  • To highlight the efficacy of current combination treatments.
  • To introduce emerging therapeutic options targeting viral enzymes.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on Hepatitis C virus therapy.
  • Analysis of sustained response rates for combination therapy (peginterferon and ribavirin).
  • Overview of novel therapeutic agents, including serine protease inhibitors in clinical trials.

Main Results:

  • Combination therapy with peginterferon and ribavirin achieved sustained response rates of 80-95% in patients with favorable prognostic factors.
  • Newer therapeutic strategies, such as serine protease inhibitors, show promising preclinical and early-phase trial results.
  • Host factors influencing treatment response are also discussed.

Conclusions:

  • Current combination therapies offer high efficacy for chronic hepatitis C.
  • Emerging direct-acting antivirals targeting viral enzymes represent a promising future direction for HCV treatment.
  • Understanding host factors may further optimize therapeutic outcomes.

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