Efficacy of Peginterferon Alfa Plus Ribavirin Treatment for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Cirrhotic Patients

Abstract

Objective: Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhotic patients have a poor prognosis with 5% annual risk of hepatic decompensation. Eradicating HCV may prevent disease progression of cirrhotic patients. The aims of this retrospective study were to investigate the efficacy of peginterferon-α plus ribavirin treatment for chronic HCV infection in cirrhotic patients and to compare the efficacies of the combined therapy between patients with and without cirrhosis. Method: From September 2003 to November 2009, cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic HCV-infected patients receiving ribavirin plus peginterferon-α therapy were included. The baseline characteristics, virological response and incidence of adverse events were compared between the patients with and without cirrhosis. Results: Fifteen cirrhotic and 121 non-cirrhotic patients receiving ribavirin plus peginterferon-α therapy were included. The baseline HCV RNA levels, genotype, age, and gender were comparable between groups. Cirrhotic patients had a lower rapid virological response (RVR) rate than non-cirrhotic patients (57.1% vs. 92.5%, P=0.035). The end-of-treatment response (ETR) rate and sustained virological response (SVR) in cirrhotic patients (86.7% and 60.0%, respectively) were slightly lower than those in non-cirrhotic patients (89.8% and 68.6%) but both differences didn’t reach statistic significance (P = 0.659 and 0.562, respectively). Additionally, there were no significant differences in the frequencies of adverse events between cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients. Conclusions: Those cirrhotic patients who received standard treatment with ribavirin plus peginterferon-α might achieved an acceptable SVR rate in Taiwan.