Hepatitis Forums
Hepatitis C Main Forums => Considering Hepatitis C Treatment => Topic started by: fullof? on January 30, 2012, 02:10:58 pm
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I keep hearing about the odds being better than ever before of being cured by hep C treatment. So what are the real odds for someone living with Hep C undergoing treatment and coming out hte other side cured?
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fullof:
There's really no standard answer to this important question -- it all depends on your personal circumstances. Which HCV genotype (http://www.hepmag.com/articles/2512_18753.shtml) do you have? Have you been treated for HCV before? If so, were you a relapser, partial responder or null responder (http://www.hepmag.com/articles/2512_20532.shtml)? Has you IL28B genotype (http://www.hepmag.com/articles/2512_18753.shtml) been tested? What is your HCV viral load?
ALL of these need to be considered when determining a person's "odds" of being cured of hep C.
However, let's just assume we're talking about someone -- yourself perhaps? -- who has genotype 1 HCV, has never been treated before and doesn't know their IL28B genotype status. In short, with the use of pegylated interferon and ribavirin alone -- the standard-of-care for many years -- cure rates are around 40 percent. With the addition of a protease inhibitor (e.g., Incivicek or Victrelis), the cure rate is generally over 70 percent. So, basically, seven of ten people with genotype 1 HCV who are starting therapy for the first time, and are combining a protease inhibitor with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, can anticipate being cured after roughly a year of treatment.
But again -- "odds" are funny business. They depend highly on individual circumstances. And we're not just talking biological traits, but also behavioral factors, notably a person's commitment to taking the prescribed medications, exactly as prescribed.
Tim Horn
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my friend is genotype 3. does he have same odds of being cured?
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Charlie:
No -- the odds of curing hepatitis C are significantly higher with either genotype 2 or 3. Provided that treatment drops your friend's HCV viral load to undetectable within four weeks, he has a 70 to 95 percent chance of clearing the virus after six months of therapy. What's more, these relatively good odds are achieved using pegylated interferon and ribavirin alone; neither of the approved protease inhibitors are used to treatment genotype 2 or 3 hepatitis C infection.
Tim Horn
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Great news. Thanks for the quick reply.
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hi truckman again is it possible to live with hep c and not undergo treatment?
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Truck:
No, not all people living with hepatitis C need treatment. In fact, many living with the virus will go on to live normal lifespans without requiring treatment.
Figuring out if you should begin treatment for hepatitis C and determining when you should start it are complicated issues. This is because hep C treatment can cause some pretty serious side effects... along with the fact that there is no guarantee that treatment will be completely effective. So at the present time -- at least until we have treatment regimens that cure the vast majority of people, with as few side effects as possible -- people with hepatitis C must weigh the risks of therapy against the benefits in deciding if and when to start treatment.
Have a look at this review (http://www.hepmag.com/articles/2512_18754.shtml) of when treatment is recommended. As you'll see, one test that really plays a major role in deciding whether or not treatment should be started is the liver biopsy, which you can learn more about here (http://www.hepmag.com/articles/2512_18753.shtml). And according to your comment in this thread (http://forums.hepmag.com/index.php?topic=1014.0), it sounds as if you don't have much damage to your liver and may not need treatment.
All the best,
Tim Horn