Predicting SVR - MightysMom

[Guest guest]

Hi MightysMom

In my personal opinion, your son should wait and treat with the TRIPLE therapy - interferon, rivavirin, and a protease inhibitor, but remember that I am not a medical professional.

Nor do I know all the stats regaurding your son.

The PI's should be approved for use by July, by the FDA.

Even if adding the PI's is over-kill, I would want the best possible chance for myself, or my child.

It would be a shame to put anyone through the combo treatment, just to maybe fail, and have to do it all over again.

[i am not saying that your son would fail on the combo treatment, just that I would suggest stacking the odds with the PI's for a more favorable result, if I had the choice.]

The triple therapy increases a persons chances of curing by attacking the HCV from 3 directions, rather than just 2.

Some people can treat for 24 weeks, others should treat for the full 48 weeks.

I have even heard of some folks treating longer [72 weeks].

There are some negatives to using the PI's, just like with any other treatment, but I think that they are few, because there hasnt been much said about this topic yet.

I have also heard that the PI clinical trials did not look at the iL28B gene testing either, but this gene test is fairly new, and that might be the reason.

[im guessing - maybe 2 years old, give or take - where-as the PI clinical trials have been in the works for 5+ years,]

Yes, there has been a lot said about the iL28B gene testing in relationship to treatment.

- However, this gene test is in regaurds to the combo treatment [inf/Riba] mostly.

Using it as a guide with the new PI's is new research.

I think you were the one who first mentioned this to the group several months ago, and got me interested in it.

Since then I have watched for articles about it, and even asked my doc for the test.

Click on these links -

- LINKS LIBRARY

http://health.dir./group/ /links/008___IL28B_gene_001292899628/

- WARRIORS MESSAGE SEARCH

http://health.dir./group/ /msearch?query=Il28B+gene & submit=Search & charset=windows-1252

- SEARCH RESULTS - hepatitis c treatment and Il28B gene test

http://search./search?ei=utf-8 & fr=slv8-tyc8 & p=hepatitis%20c%20treatment%20and%20Il28B%20gene%20test & type=

MightysMom, no one can tell you what you should do.

My opinion is just my opinion, and is almost meaningless.

The information above is only to help you become more informed.

The real expert is your son's doctor.

If anyone can advise you well, it would be them.

love

don in ks

From: mightysmom <mightysmom@...>Subject: [ ] Re: Predicting sustained virological response in chronic hep C therapy Date: Friday, April 15, 2011, 9:28 PM

Don,I am very interested in this. I have gotten conflicting information about the importance of viral load, but this study says it is a factor. My son's viral load is high. It seems to me that if a drop in viral load is a significant factor in how well someone is responding to treatment, it must be important somehow.I've been told that the clinical trials for telaprevir and boceprevir did not look at IL22B genotyping. My son has the CC, favorable, genotype. One doc says his high viral load pretty much wipes out the CC benefits and we need to wait until the new drugs are available before treating. Another says his chances of a cure are good enough with the standard 2 drugs because of the CC genotype. Do you know of any research looking at predicting SVR based on IL22B genotype?Many thanks!MM>> Predicting sustained virological response in chronic hep C therapy> Â > Predicting sustained virological response in chronic hep C therapy > > A study in the recently published Journal of Viral Hepatitis estimates the likelihood of sustained virological response in chronic hepatitis C therapy.> > The likelihood of a sustained virological response is the most important factor for physicians and patients in the decision to initiate and continue therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection. > > Dr Stefan Mauss and colleagues from Germany identified predictive factors for sustained virological response with peginterferon plus ribavirin in patients with chronic

hepatitis C treated under ‘real-life’ conditions. > > The study cohort consisted of patients from a large, retrospective German multicentre, observational study who had been treated with peginterferon alfa-2a plus RBV or peginterferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin between the years 2000 and 2007. > > To ensure comparability regarding peginterferon therapies, patients were analyzed in pairs matched by several baseline variables. > Sustained virological response rates were 58% overall > Journal of Viral Hepatitis > > The researchers determined the effect of nonmatched baseline variables and treatment modality on sustained virological response. > > Among 2378 patients, sustained virological response rates were 58% overall, 47% in HCV genotype 1/4-infected patients and 77% in genotype 2/3-infected patients. > > In multivariate logistic regression analysis, positive

predictors of sustained virological response were HCV genotype 2 infection, HCV genotype 3 infection, low baseline viral load and treatment with peginterferon alfa-2a. > > The research team found that the negative predictors of sustained virological response were higher age, elevated baseline gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and low baseline platelet count. > > Dr Mauss' team commented, "Among patients treated with peginterferon plus ribavirin in routine clinical practice, genotype, baseline viral load, age, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase level and platelet levels all predict the likelihood of treatment success." > > "In patients matched by baseline characteristics, treatment with peginterferon alfa-2a may be a positive predictor of sustained virological response when compared to peginterferon alfa-2b."> > > http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2893.2010.01372.x/abstract> Â > http://Hepatitis Cnewdrugs.blogspot.com/2011/04/predicting-sustained-virological.html> Â > Â >------------------------------------