Abstract
Peginterferon alfa-2b (1.0 μg/kg) in combination with ribavirin (PEG/RBV) was administered for 48 weeks to 102 patients with type C compensated liver cirrhosis. The Sustained virological response (SVR) retes were 21.7% (15/69) in patients with "genotype I and high viral titers" and 78.8% (26/33) in patients with "other than genotype I and high viral titers". With all patients, the sustained virological response rate was 40.2% (41/102, two-sided 95% confidence interval: 30.6% to 50.4%), significantly exceeding the pre-defined sustained virological response rate of 10%. Adverse events occurred in all patients, but they were events often observed during interferon monotherapy and PEG/RBV combination therapy. Sixteen serious adverse events were observed in 14 patients (13.7%), but no deaths occurred. PEG/RBV can be considered to be a new treatment option for patients with type C compensated liver cirrhosis, including difficult-to-treat "genotype 1 and high viral titer" patients.
