RECOMBINANT HUMAN INTERFERON ALPHA-2A THERAPY FOR CHRONIC HEPATITIS-CWITH OR WITHOUT CIRRHOSIS - COMPARISON OF 3 OR 6 MU FOR 1 YEAR

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two different ther apeutical regimens of IFN alpha-2a in patients with HCV related chroni c liver disease. Eighty one patients with HCV chronic hepatitis with o r without cirrhosis entered the study; 42 and 39 patients were treated with 3 or 6 MU IFN, respectively. The results show that: 1) 25/39 (64 .1%) patients treated with 6 MU and 21/42 (50.0%) patients treated wit h 3 MU had a complete response defined as a decline in serum ALT level s to the normal range during therapy; 2) complete response to 6 MU tre atment was observed independently of the presence or absence of cirrho sis; in the 3 MU group, a complete response was observed in 31.6% of p atients with CAH + cirrhosis as compared with 68.2% of those with CAH alone (p < 0.03); and 3) at 1 year after the end of the treatment we o bserved persistent ALT normalization in 40.6% and 28.2% of patients tr eated with 6 or 3 MU, respectively, and absence of HCV viraemia (HCV-R NA) in 7/10 patients with CAH and in 2/7 patients with CAH+cirrhosis, mostly in patients treated with 6 MU. In conclusion, 6 MU IFN dose is more effective than 3 MU in reducing disease activity in HCV chronic h epatitis, specially in patients with CAH + cirrhosis.