Randomized trial of high‐dose interferon‐α‐2b combined with ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C: Correlation between amino acid substitutions in the core/NS5A region and virological response to interferon therapy

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of high‐dose interferon (IFN)‐α‐2b with standard dose of IFN‐α‐2b in combination with ribavirin (RBV) for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and to investigate the predictive factors associated with virological response. Two hundred Japanese patients with high HCV viral load (>100 KIU/ml) were randomized to 6 or 10 mega units (MU) of 24‐week IFN‐α‐2b with RBV. Predictive factors were investigated; including pretreatment amino acid (aa) sequences of the core region and the IFN‐sensitive determining region (ISDR). The sustained virological response rate was not different in the two groups (24% vs. 30%) but the incidence of depression was significantly higher in the 10 MU group than 6 MU group (7% vs. 0%, P = 0.02). Younger age (<60) and HCV genotype (2a/b) were significant predictors of sustained virological response. In patients infected with genotype 1b, substitutions of core aa 70 and/or 91 were predictive for non‐virological response (P < 0.001), and substitutions in the ISDR was observed frequently in virological responders. Early viral kinetics study showed that serum HCV core antigen decreased more slowly in both patients with aa 70 and/or 91 substitutions in the core and with absence of substitutions in the ISDR. In conclusion, the use of a higher dose of IFN‐α‐2b in combination with RBV did not improve virological response but resulted in higher incidence of depression. Amino acid substitutions in the core and ISDR are predictive of virological response to the therapy in patients with genotype 1b and high viral load. J. Med. Virol. 81:640–649, 2009 © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.