Which among the following is the best to evaluate alpha interferon therapy for HCV?
(A) Quantification of HCV RNA # During therapy, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels decrease to normal and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA decreases in 40% to 60% of patients. However, most patients relapse after therapy withdrawal, so that no more than 15% to 25% achieve a sustained response.> Re-treatment has been evaluated in studies using different regimens and forms of alpha interferon in different cohorts of patients at different times after initial therapy.> The best predictor of sustained response to re-treatment in patients who had relapsed was a negative serum HCV-RNA test by polymerase chain reaction at the end of the first course.> These results, which have been confirmed in a recent prospective, randomized controlled trial, indicate that nonresponders to interferon should not be re-treated with interferon alone, whereas patients who relapse after a 6-month course of alpha interferon therapy have an indication to be re-treated for at least 12 months, especially if serum HCV RNA was negative at the end of the first course of treatment.
Quantification of HCV RNA
ALT and AST levels
Serum bilirubin level
Serum IgM and IgG levels
Miscellaneous