High versus standard doses interferon-alpha in the treatment of naïve chronic hepatitis C patients in Taiwan: a 10-year cohort study

Table 5 Dose effect of interferon-alpha in chronic hepatitis C patients Dose effect of interferon-alpha on end-of-treatment virological response, virological relapse, and sustained virological response in chronic hepatitis C patients with low-, medium-, and high- virological risk

	Low-risk patients, n/N (%)†		Medium-risk patients, n/N (%)‡		High-risk patients, n/N (%)§
	3-MU group	6-MU group	3-MU group	6-MU group	3-MU group	6-MU group
End-of-treatment virological response	14/19 (73.7)*	32/32 (100)*	19/39 (48.7)**	50/61 (82.0)**	4/18 (22.2)*	21/31 (67.7)*
Virological relapse	1/14 (7.1)	8/32 (25.0)	16/19 (84.0)	32/50 (64.0)	2/4 (50.0)	17/21 (81.0)
Sustained virological response	13/19 (68.4)	24/32 (75.0)	3/39 (7.7)*	18/61 (29.5)*	2/18 (11.1)	4/31 (12.9)

† Low-risk patients, neither genotype 1b nor pretreatment HCV RNA levels>0.65 Meq/mL.
‡ Medium-risk patients, either genotype 1b or pretreatment HCV RNA levels>0.65 Meq/mL.
§High-risk patients, both genotype 1b and pretreatment HCV RNA levels>0.65 Meq/mL.
*, P < 0.01; **, P < 0.001.

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