Endogenous Interferon-α Concentration and Outcome of Interferon Treatment in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C

To verify its value with regard to the outcomeof therapy in chronic hepatitis C, seruminterferon-α (IFN) was measured by ELISA in 70patients (43 male, 27 female) with chronic hepatitis C,treated with IFN 9 MU/week subcutaneously for up to oneyear. Serum IFN was detectable in 49/70 patients, 16 ofwhom had IFN values >125 pg/ml. Only 1/22 patientswho maintained a sustained response six months after the end of treatment had pretreatment serum IFN> 125 pg/ml, in comparison to 15/48 patients who didnot respond or who relapsed (χ 6.1, P < 0.02). Atmultivariate analysis the predictive value of serum IFN was independent of age, sex, presence ofcirrhosis, infection by genotype 1b (improvement χ7.1, P < 0.01). In patients with chronic hepatitis C,measurement of serum IFN at baseline might be useful for the selection of patients with higherprobability of long-term response.