V. Hepatitis C Treatment

The current standard of treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a combination of two drugs: pegylated interferon and ribavirin. The virological response rate, treatment duration, and ribavirin dose vary according to several prognostic factors: genotype, baseline HCV RNA (viral load), race, body weight, age, and liver histology. In one study, 48 weeks of pegylated interferon plus ribavirin led to treatment responses ranging from 47% to 82% (Hadziyannis 2004). Overall, approximately 50% of those treated for hepatitis C will achieve a sustained virological response (SVR), meaning that no virus is detected in the bloodstream six months after completing treatment. Whether or not an SVR is equivalent to a “cure” is a controversial matter. Treatment may be beneficial for individuals who do not achieve an SVR; some have an improvement in liver condition or a stabilization of disease progression, although the durability and clinical benefits of these improvements are unknown at present.