FAVORABLE RESPONSE TO LYMPHOBLASTOID INTERFERON-ALPHA IN CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS-C

Background / Aims: We investigated the efficacy of interferon therapy for the treatment of children with chronic hepatitis C. Virus infectio n. Methods: Twenty-four out of 26 children completed the 6-month treat ment with lymphoblastoid interferon-alpha and were followed for 12 mon ths or longer. Response to interferon therapy was defined by assaying for circulating HCV-RNA, using a nested PCR, at 6-month intervals afte r the end of the therapy. Results: At the end of treatment circulating HCV-RNA was undetectable in 18/24 patients and at 6 months in 12/24. Ten of these 12 primary responders have remained virus free for more t han 2 years. One patient remained negative at 12 months, The remaining patient relapsed at 12 months. At 24 months 10 of 18 patients tested negative for HCV-RNA. Serum alanine aminotransferase was normal in 11/ 24 patients at the end of treatment, at 6 months 12/24 were normal, an d at 12 months 11/12 were normal. In eight children with sustained res ponse, repeated liver biopsies revealed a reduction in Knodell's score s for inflammation in the hepatic lobules and in the portal areas, In three of them neither plus nor minus strand of HCV-RNA was detectable in the liver tissue, Responders had a significantly lower level of vir emia than non-responders, Side effects of interferon including fever, hair loss, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia were not serious enough t o warrant cessation of interferon treatment. Conclusions: Interferon t herapy in children with chronic hepatitis C may be beneficial as evalu ated by sustained loss of viremia as well as by primary response.