Use of high-dose interferon in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Semin Liver Dis. 1999:19 Suppl 1:25-33.

Abstract

High-dose interferon therapy is defined as any treatment regimen that provides more than 3 million Units (MU) of interferon three times weekly (TIW), or more than 9 MU on a weekly basis. Such treatment could be achieved with either a fixed dose of interferon administered daily (QD) or TIW, an induction regimen in which doses greater than 3 MU QD are administered for several weeks to months followed by a reduction in the dose or dosing frequency, or by escalation in the interferon dose. Each of these high-dose regimens appears to increase end-of-treatment response. Unfortunately, sustained response and virologic "cure" following treatment with high-dose interferon appear no better than what could be achieved with standard-dose interferon therapy. Whether sustained response can be improved by utilizing ribavirin in combination with high-dose interferon remains to be determined.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antiviral Agents / administration & dosage*
  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Drug Administration Schedule
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Hepacivirus / drug effects
  • Hepacivirus / genetics
  • Hepatitis C, Chronic / therapy*
  • Hepatitis C, Chronic / virology
  • Humans
  • Interferon-alpha / administration & dosage*
  • Interferon-alpha / therapeutic use
  • RNA, Viral / analysis
  • RNA, Viral / drug effects
  • Recurrence
  • Ribavirin / therapeutic use
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents
  • Interferon-alpha
  • RNA, Viral
  • Ribavirin