REVIEW ARTICLE - INTERFERON AND HEPATITIS-C - FACTORS PREDICTING THERAPEUTIC OUTCOME

Hepatitis C chronically infects approximate to 1.5% of Americans and i s the most common clinical problem facing hepatologists, Since the vir us was initially described in 1989, development of an effective therap y has been challenging, Although several different therapeutic agents have been used, no therapy has been shown to reliably eradicate the vi rus, Interferon-alpha, a cytokine with immunostimulatory and anti-vira l properties, has become the therapy of choice for patients with chron ic hepatitis C infection. Trials assessing the efficacy of interferon- alpha have characterized host and viral factors predictive of response s to treatment. A thorough understanding of these predictive factors i s requisite to providing cost-effective therapeutic decisions for the patient with chronic hepatitis C infection.