Lack of sustained efficacy of interferon in patients with chronic hepatitis C

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been shown to cause progressive and chronic liver damage.1 Interferon therapy apparently eradicates HCV in 20 to 30 percent of patients, but the follow-up in published studies is generally short (6 to 18 months) and never exceeds 3 to 5 years. Our findings indicate that at the doses used, interferon has little, if any, long-term efficacy in patients with chronic hepatitis C