a multicenter study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of heber on (interferon alfa-2b) in combination with ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis c in iran

abstract background: combination therapy with interferon and ribavirin is the most effective treatment for chronic hepatitis c today. the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of thrice-weekly heberon (interferon alfa-2b) in combination with ribavirin as first -line treatment of chronic hepatitis c. methods: a total of97 treatment-naive patients received heberon three million units thrice-weekly subcutaneously in combination with ribavirin for 12 months. serum hcv rna levels were measured before and during therapy and 6 months after the end of therapy. end-of-treatment and sustained virological responses was defmed as an undetectable hcv-rna level at the end of treatment, and 6 months after treatment was completed (end of follow-up), respectively. results: in an intent-to-treat analysis, hcv-rna was undetectable at the end of treatment in 49.5% of patients. at the end of follow-up, sustained virological response was 36.1 %. combination treatment was generally well tolerated. six patients stopped therapy because of side effects: severe cytopenia (n=4), depression (n=1), and hyperthyroidism (n= 1 ). common side effects of therapy include: flu-like syndrome (85.6%), generalized alopecia (41.2% ), injection site inflammation (37.1% ), mood changes (36% ), anorexia (34%) and weight loss (32% ). conclusion: heberon as an ifn product in combination with ribavirin for treat-ment of patients with chronic hepatitis cis relatively safe, feasible, and potentially efficacious. it has comparable results in achieving end-of-treatment and sustained virological responses in chronic hepatitis c.