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Triple combination of thymalfasin, peginterferon alfa‐2a and ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C who have failed prior interferon and ribavirin treatment: 24‐week interim results of a pilot study
Author(s) -
POO JORGE LUIS,
SÁNCHEZAVILA F,
KERSHENOBICH D,
GARCÍASAMPER X,
GONGORA J,
URIBE M
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2004.03634.x
Subject(s) - medicine , ribavirin , regimen , hepatitis c , peginterferon alfa 2a , pegylated interferon , hepatitis c virus , interferon alfa , combination therapy , chronic hepatitis , interferon , alpha interferon , population , interim analysis , gastroenterology , immunology , clinical trial , virus , environmental health
Despite steady progress in antiviral treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV), many patients still have detectable serum HCV RNA levels by the end of interferon‐based treatment and are known as virological non‐responders. Re‐treatment of these patients not responding to previous therapy remains challenging. Studies of the dynamics of the HCV population show a marked decline in new cases since 1996; however, the relative proportion of non‐responders is expected to increase over time and, similarly, the number of patients eligible for first‐line treatment is expected to decrease. The current standard of care for treatment involves the use of pegylated interferons in combination with ribavirin. However, many difficult‐to‐treat groups still have low response rates. Newer combinations are being investigated to optimize chances of attaining a sustained response in these groups: one such triple therapy regimen is peginterferon alfa‐2a, ribavirin and thymalfasin, which was given to 23 previously non‐responder patients. Viral response was 60.8% at week 12 and 47.8% at week 24. These preliminary results encourage further evaluation of this promising combination. © 2004 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd