Extended therapy duration for therapy-refractory hepatitis C patients with genotype 2

Table 1 Laboratory findings at baseline, treatments and outcomes of highly intractable cases

Parameters	Case 1		Case 2
Age (yr)	55		55
Sex	Male		Male
HCV genotype	2b		2b
Transmission	Tattoo or drug abuse		Unknown
IL28B SNPs (rs8099917:rs11881222:rs8103142)	T/T:A/A:T/T		T/T:A/A:T/T
ITPA SNPs	C/C		C/C
At the start of therapy	First therapy	Second therapy	First therapy	Second therapy
BMI (kg/m2)	26	27.5	20.9	19.7
HCV RNA (logIU/mL)	6.5	3.7	7.2	7.5
Liver biopsy	F1/A2	Not performed	F1/A2	Not performed
ALT (IU/L)	36	26	32	40
AST (IU/L)	44	32	32	33
WBC (cells/μL)	4520	3880	3690	4020
Neutrophil (cells/μL)	2650	2420	1450	1950
Hemoglobin (g/dL)	15.7	14.6	11.9	12.9
Platelets (cells/μL)	16.4	15.7	14.5	15.3
Peak ALT after the first therapy (IU/L)	210		33
Duration between the first therapy and the second therapy (wk)	17		10
Treatment and outcome	First therapy	Second therapy	First therapy	Second therapy
Peginterferon α dosage (μg)	100	180	100	180
RBV dosage (mg)	800	800	800	800
Week at disappearance of serum HCV RNA	8	4	16	4
Adherence to peginterferon α	100%	100%	100%	100%
Adherence to RBV	100%	74%	96%	100%
Weeks of therapy	48	72	48	72
Response	Relapse	SVR	Relapse	Relapse

HCV: Hepatitis C virus; IL28B: Interleukin-28B; SNPs: Single nucleotide polymorphisms; ITPA: Inosine triphosphatase; first therapy: 48-wk peginterferon α-2b/ribavirin; second therapy: 72-wk peginterferon α-2a/ribavirin; BMI: Body mass index; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; WBC: White blood cell; RBV: Ribavirin; SVR: Sustained virological response.