Acute HCV: Will IL28B Testing Change the Paradigm?

Abstract

HCV infection will spontaneously resolve in 30% to 50% of patients. Patients with beneficial IL28B genotypes are more likely to clear spontaneously, while other are unlikely to, with less than 15% clearance rate. These patients would therefore be very likely to benefit from immediate treatment with pegylated interferon. In delayed treatment, ribavirin might be required to achieve similar results, making the delayed treatment also from the cost perspective only attractive in those likely to clear spontaneously: Patients with beneficial IL28B genotype and jaundiced patients with the intermediate IL28B genotype.