A new investigative oral therapy successfully cured hepatitis C infections in over 90 percent of participating patients who had liver cirrhosis.
In past years cure rates in patients suffering from cirrhosis ("liver scarring) have been below 50 percent; the new therapy was well tolerated by the patients, but past treatments have proven to be unsafe, a University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio news release reported.
Hepatitis C is the top cause of cirrhosis as well as liver cancer and transplants in the U.S.
Interferon has been one of the few options for treating the condition, but left patients prone to relapse and imposed a number of side effects. This new interferon-free oral therapy consists of "ABT-450/ritonavir, ombitasvir, dasabuvir and ribavirin," the news release reported.
The researchers looked at 380 patients to make their findings. Twelve weeks after the the patients took their last dose (in those that were treated for 12 weeks) 91.8 percent had no trace of the virus left in their system. In those who were treated for 24 weeks, 95.9 percent were virus-free 12 weeks after the last dose.
"These are out-of-the-ballpark response rates, not on the same planet as interferon," Dr. Poordad said. "The reason this study is so profound is because interferon is not tolerated nor is it safe in many people with cirrhosis. Many of the patients with cirrhosis in this study were not even eligible to be treated with interferon."
One patient had been diagnosed with hepatitis C 11 years ago; his past treatments caused side effects but did not eliminate the virus from his system.
"I feel very lucky to be living in this time, because I was almost resigned to the idea that I could never be cured," the patient, Sergio Buentello, M.D., said in the news release.
