Keeping Up in HCV: Counting Down the Final Days of Interferon

Keeping Up in HCV: Counting Down the Final Days of Interferon

Hello everyone,
Did you watch Sunday night's Golden Globe awards? Tina Fey and Amy were very funny, but George Clooney was a no show, other then that, it was a great show!

In any event, we have a show of our own folks, today Clinical Care Options launched both a downloadable slideset, and a short virtual interactive presentation discussing approved and investigational agents to treat hepatitis C.

Our host is Jordan J. Feld, MD, MPH., from Toronto Western Hospital Liver Centre, Sandra Rotman Centre for Global Health University of Toronto, Canada. This auto response enabled presentation offers a set of questions followed by expert commentary, highlighting treatment protocol for new FDA approved therapies used in different patient populations.

Both the audio program and slideset is beneficial for anyone who will be making future treatment decisions. For instance in the easy to follow audio presentation important factors needed to maximize sustained virologic response (SVR) is discussed. 

In this slide, the focus is on treatment with sofosbuvir plus ribavirin in treatment experienced genotype 3 patients with cirrhosis. Does extending treatment to 24 weeks improve SVR? Not according to the slide, listen to expert commentary for advice on how to proceed.

If you find time download the slides to view at a later date, commentary is also offered under each slide, as shown here:

"Will there still be a role for interferon?"

 Commentary

DAA, direct-acting antiviral; GT, genotype; IFN, interferon; IL, interleukin. 

So, will there still be a role for interferon? Well, I think in some populations—initially in genotype 3, possibly initially in patients with multi-DAA–resistant variants, perhaps in prior null responders with quad therapy. However, I think those last 2 groups will likely fade away as our DAA combinations get better and better. 

Alternatively, though, you might actually choose interferon in so-called easy-to-cure populations, those that are very interferon responsive. So, patients who have a favorable IL28B genotype and those with mild disease, you might want to think about using interferon where you could get away with high efficacy, probably short duration, with the idea that this might contain costs which will be very relevant in many parts of the world. It may also allow us to use fewer or perhaps somewhat suboptimal DAAs that would be protected with the use of interferon.

Links

 Keeping Up in HCV: Counting Down the Final Days of Interferon
Jordan J. Feld, MD, MPH, reviews the classes of HCV direct-acting antiviral therapy and the combination regimens that are effective in various populations of HCV-infected patients. 
Source: Keeping Up in HCV: An Ongoing Update on New Agents in Development 
Faculty: Jordan J. Feld MD, MPH 
Released: 1/13/2014

Keeping Up in HCV: Counting Down the Final Days of Interferon
In this downloadable slideset, Jordan J. Feld, MD, MPH, reviews the classes of HCV direct-acting antiviral therapy and the combination regimens that are effective in various populations of HCV-infected patients. 
Source: Keeping Up in HCV: An Ongoing Update on New Agents in Development 
Date Posted: 1/13/2014

See you tomorrow, bye for now.