Telaprevir in combination with peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin therapy for genotype 1 Japanese chronic HCV patients: Impact on adherence and antiviral effects

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between adherence to telaprevir based-regimen and antiviral effect in 94 Japanese patients with genotype 1 and high viral titer chronic hepatitis C. We included recently identified predictive factors such as IL28B polymorphism (rs8099917). Patients with rs8099917 TT genotype (n=50) treated with telaprevir based-regimen achieved a high SVR rate (94.0%, 47/50). In patients with rs8099917 TG/GG genotype (n=44), the SVR rate for treatment-naïve patients and relapsers and non-responders to previous treatment was 50.0%, 90.9%, and 30.4%, respectively, and efficacy in treatment-naïve and non-responder patients was considered inadequate. Importantly, adherence to telaprevir based-regimen should be maintained over a period of 24 weeks for treatment-naïve patients and relapsers with rs8099917 TG/GG genotype. In addition, prolonged therapy with telaprevir based-regimen may be considered for treatment-naïve patients and non-responders with rs8099917 TG/GG genotype.