Abstract
Elderly patients with chronic hepatitis C cannot tolerate standard combination therapy of peginterferon and ribavirin, which remains the backbone of therapy in many countries, including Japan. The efficacy and safety of low-dose peginterferon α-2b in combination with low and escalating doses of ribavirin in older patients with high viral load genotype 1 were investigated in this randomized controlled trial. Thirty-two patients (age ≥60 years) were randomized into standard (group 1) or low (group 2) doses of peginterferon α-2b in combination with low and escalating doses of ribavirin. Patients were evaluated for safety and efficacy of treatment. There was a higher virological response rate in group 1 than in group 2. However, the response in men was higher than in women in the early treatment phase and 24 weeks after treatment (P=0.008). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the virological response rate in men and women. Completion of therapy was higher in group 2 than in group 1 (31% vs. 13%, P=0.200). Dose modification of ribavirin was less frequent in group 2 than in group 1 (69% vs. 88%, P=0.200). These data suggest that combination therapy with low-dose peginterferon plus low and escalating doses of ribavirin may be safer in older patients than that with standard dose peginterferon, without impairing the treatment response.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2082-2089 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Medical Virology |
Volume | 87 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 1 2015 |
Keywords
- Adverse event
- Dose modification
- Sustained virological response
- Treatment discontinuation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases