Triple combination of thymalfasin, peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C who have failed prior interferon and ribavirin treatment: 24-week interim results of a pilot study

• Published in: Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology Vol. 19; no. S6; pp. S79 - S81
• Main Authors: POO, JORGE LUIS, SÁNCHEZ-AVILA, F, KERSHENOBICH, D, GARCÍA-SAMPER, X, GONGORA, J, URIBE, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne, Australia Blackwell Science Pty 01-12-2004
• Subjects: Adult; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Hepacivirus - drug effects; Hepacivirus - genetics; Hepacivirus - growth & development; Hepatitis C, Chronic - drug therapy; Hepatitis C, Chronic - genetics; Humans; Interferon-alpha - therapeutic use; Male; Mexico; Middle Aged; non-responders; Pilot Projects; Polyethylene Glycols - therapeutic use; Recombinant Proteins; retreatment of chronic hepatitis C virus; Ribavirin - therapeutic use; RNA, Viral - blood; thymalfasin; Thymosin - analogs & derivatives; Thymosin - therapeutic use; Time Factors; Treatment Failure; Treatment Outcome; triple therapy; Viral Load; Virus Replication - drug effects
• ISSN: 0815-9319; 1440-1746
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1746.2004.03634.x

Despite steady progress in antiviral treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV), many patients still have detectable serum HCV RNA levels by the end of interferon‐based treatment and are known as virological non‐responders. Re‐treatment of these patients not responding to previous therapy remains challenging. Studies of the dynamics of the HCV population show a marked decline in new cases since 1996; however, the relative proportion of non‐responders is expected to increase over time and, similarly, the number of patients eligible for first‐line treatment is expected to decrease. The current standard of care for treatment involves the use of pegylated interferons in combination with ribavirin. However, many difficult‐to‐treat groups still have low response rates. Newer combinations are being investigated to optimize chances of attaining a sustained response in these groups: one such triple therapy regimen is peginterferon alfa‐2a, ribavirin and thymalfasin, which was given to 23 previously non‐responder patients. Viral response was 60.8% at week 12 and 47.8% at week 24. These preliminary results encourage further evaluation of this promising combination.
© 2004 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd