Induction therapy with consensus interferon (CIFN) does not improve sustained virologic response in chronic hepatitis C

In patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1, sustained viral response (SVR) averages 10-40% depending on treatment regime. It has been proposed that high dose daily interferon (IFN) therapy early in therapy (induction dosing) may enhance SVR. In the present study we examined this issue and also assessed whether one could predict SVR and non-SVR, based on viral kinetics during the first month of induction therapy. End of treatment response and SVR was determined in 173 HCV infected patients who were treated with different induction doses of consensus interferon (CIFN) for one month followed by 11 months of standard 9 μg of CIFN thrice weekly (TIW). The second phase decline slope was calculated by log-linear regression on weekly measurements of serum HCV RNA during the first 7-28 days of treatment; rapid viral response (RVR) during the first month of induction dosing was defined as a decline of > 0.3 log copies/mL/week. Overall, SVR occurred in 11% of genotype 1 infected patients and 41% of patients with nongenotype 1. High dose induction therapy did not increase the rate of SVR, in either genotype 1 or genotype 2/3 infected patients. No patient without a RVR during the first month had SVR, while SVR occurred in 55% of the patients with RVR. RVR was the best predictor of SVR using multivariate analysis. These results indicate that induction dosing with CIFN does not improve SVR rates. They also suggest that early viral kinetics during the first month of therapy can predict non-SVR and thus save a patient a year long treatment which is fraught with side-effects and significant cost.