The natural history of hepatitis C virus infection.

The natural history of HCV infection remains ill-defined. The knowledge accumulated on the progression of HCV to date is important, however. It is now abundantly clear that the progression of disease is generally slow, and the development of cirrhosis and its complications is a possibility, not a probability as hitherto thought. Predicting the outcome remains a quandary for clinicians. Ultimately it will be possible to define the natural history of hepatitis C infection through a combination of research in the fields of virology, immunology, and molecular biology and by monitoring the biochemical and histologic progress of the disease. Only then will it be possible to intervene appropriately and develop new therapies to prevent the progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.