High dose interferon alpha-2b therapy for chronic hepatitis C: an open label study of the response and predictors of response.

Abstract

1) Higher dose IFN therapy yields higher response rates at 6 months than the dose currently recommended with acceptable toxicity, but does not improve the sustained response rate; 2) the only predictor of a favorable response in this study was a longer known duration of hepatitis/abnormal ALT elevations; 3) serum HCV-RNA levels often disappear with a total response and may be used to monitor the response to treatment and relapse.