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©2007 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Predictive factors for interferon and ribavirin combination therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C
Joonho Yoon, Jong In Lee, Soon Koo Baik, Kwang Ho Lee, Joon Hyung Sohn, Hyean-Woo Lee, Jun Namkung, Sei Jin Chang, Jong-Whan Choi, Hyun-Won Kim, Byung-Il Yeh
Joonho Yoon, Joon Hyung Sohn, Hyean-Woo Lee, Jun Namkung, Jong-Whan Choi, Hyun-Won Kim, Byung-Il Yeh, Department of Biochemistry and Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju 220-701, Republic of Korea
Jong In Lee, Soon Koo Baik, Department of Internal Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju 220-701, Republic of Korea
Kwang Ho Lee, Department of Anesthesiology, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju 220-701, Republic of Korea
Sei Jin Chang, Department of Preventive Medicine and Institute of Occupational Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju 220-701, Republic of Korea
Soon Koo Baik, Jun Namkung, Sei Jin Chang, Byung-Il Yeh, Institute of Lifelong Health, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju 220-701, Republic of Korea
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by a Research Grant from Yonsei University, Wonju College of Medicine, YUWCM 2004-03
Correspondence to: Byung-Il Yeh, Department of Biochemistry, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 162 Ilsandong, Wonju, Gangwondo 220-701, Republic of Korea. biyeh64@hotmail.com
Telephone: +82-33-7410282 Fax: +82-33-7430411
Received: August 9, 2007
Revised: September 20, 2007
Accepted: October 29, 2007
Published online: December 14, 2007
AIM: To confirm the predictive factors for interferon (IFN)-α and ribavirin combination therapy for chronic hepatitis patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1b.
METHODS: HCV RNA from 50 patients infected with HCV genotype 1b was studied by cloning and sequencing of interferon sensitivity determining region (ISDR), PKR-eIF2α phosphorylation homology domain (PePHD). Patients were treated with IFN-α and ribavirin for 6 mo and grouped by effectiveness of the therapy. A variety of factors were analyzed.
RESULTS: Our data showed that age, HCV RNA titer, and ISDR type could be used as the predictive factors for combined IFN-α and ribavirin efficacy. Characteristically, mutations in PePHD appeared only when the combination therapy was effective. Other factors, such as sex and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level, were not related to its efficacy. Adjusting for age and HCV RNA titer indicated that the ISDR type was the most potent predictive factor.
CONCLUSION: HCV RNA ISDR type is an important factor for predicting efficacy of IFN-α and ribavirin combination therapy in Korean patients.
