Present treatment expectations and risks of chronic hepatitis C.

During recent years, the treatment of chronic hepatitis C has increased in efficacy. Initially, the only approved treatment for this disease was interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) monotherapy, achieving a 15% rate of sustained response. Subsequently, a combination of IFN-alpha plus ribavirin showed a greater efficacy: up to 40% success with 3 MU of IFN-alpha three times weekly and 1000-1200 mg of ribavirin daily in naive patients and in those who had relapsed after a course of IFN-alpha therapy. Pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN), due to its better efficacy and tolerance, has displaced the use of recombinant IFN. Nevertheless, the sustained response rate mainly depends on HCV RNA load and HCV genotype. Presumably, in future, new strategies based on gene therapy will play an important role in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.